Friday 13th
by SepticMind
Summary: that date means bad luck to most people, but someone may be benefiting from that in ways she hadn't dreamt of.
1. Bad luck

Friday the 13th says a few things to me: It's my lucky day for starters. Got me wondering who else may be having a lucky day, and who other than the mistress of bad luck herself, Jinx?

Was just one of those things that poped into my head, and I had to write. Don't know if I'm going to continue it. If I do, there wont be regular updates.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Teen Titans. DC do.

* * *

><p>"It's the Hive Five again." Robin frowned, "At the jewellery store."<p>

"We can take 'em, easy." Cyborg punched the air.

"We can run them off, sure." Raven muttered, "But we haven't put them behind bars yet."

"Then this time, we shall be victorious!" Starfire smiled optimistically.

"We'll stick with the usual tactics. Raven, you focus on Jinx. Beast Boy and I'll deal with Mammoth, while Star and Cyborg take out gizmo."

* * *

><p>"Those snot-munchers still aren't here. I say we just take what we got and go." Gizmo sniffed as he walked over to where Jinx was stood, watching the door of the shop.<p>

"No. You said we were in his together." Jinx snapped at him. "I'll still provide a distraction to let you escape." She studied the structure of the building. "It's a new place, but I should be able to floor it."

"What makes you so sure? If you're wrong..."

"I'm not wrong. Today is Friday 13th."

"So? What does that have to do anything."

"13th Friday's bad luck." Mammoth called up from the backroom.

"And I'm bad luck, remember. This really won't be the titans lucky day."

"I still don't understand why your botherin' with her. Why not go somewhere else? Easy pickin's and all that." Gizmo frowned.

"Because if things go as planned, it could completely ruin her reputation. You never know, we might even get a new team member. With her powers, not even the Justice League would be able to stop us. You're such an idiot."

"There here." Mammoth spoke as he listened to the T-Car pull up outside.

"Leave Raven to me." Jinx got into her fight stance. "You focus on the others. We won't be fighting for more than five minutes, then I'll get us out of here."

"You'd better do."


	2. Jinxed

Reviews:

**half demon raven: **Great story . keep writing

_how could I possibly say no to that?_

**TaintedFlare: **oooh! now you got me all excited to see whats next...

_Now you've gotten me all exited to write what's next :D So here you go_.

* * *

><p>Sorry about the long wait. Exams and all that 0_o' Gonna be so glad when they're over. So inconciderate, taking up all my writing time.<p>

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. If I did, Raven would be with BB, Red X , or she'd be gay. Robin would have a fling with Slade, who'd then leave him for Mad Mod (hey, Slade has a thing for tea and Mod's English so :P ) Maybe it's a good thing I don't own them.

* * *

><p>They didn't bother to sneak in. Instead, Robin took the front door – a more dramatic entrance, kicking it open, bo-staff ready.<p>

"I was wondering when you snot-munchers would get here." Gizmo sneered.

"Why don't you guys just give up!" Beast Boy whined. It hadn't seemed like five minutes since their last attack.

Mammoth laughed at him, and with a signal from Jinx, charged at the green titan.

"Titans, GO!" Robin shouted as he lept into action, running up Beast Boy's back as he morphed into a triceratops and swinging his bo-staff round to hit Mammoth.

Starfire was in the air in seconds, and flying towards Gizmo, starbolts ready to use. Cyborg mimicked her on the ground, dodging the miniature explosives the boy genius aimed at him.

Raven faced Jinx, who was already flying towards her, foot first. The Empath sank through the floor to dodge the attack, surfacing again behind the pink haired sorceress. Jinx couldn't believe how easy to was to get the arrangement she needed, even if she usually was facing off Raven, it didn't always mean the female titan was on her own.

There were two problems when it came to Jinx and Raven facing off. Their powers. Jinxes hexes were too unstable to use in close proximity without risking damage to herself, and Raven's were similar. She could grab the girl, but not throw anything without risking catching herself. Like during most fights, they were reduced to hand-to-hand combat. Jinx couldn't afford that today. She knew Raven had more training than her thanks to the boy wonder, and she needed Raven trapped for at least a few seconds. She didn't need herself captured. Cartwheeling back away from the empath, she threw one of the pink hexes at Raven's feet.

Raven was in the air in seconds, and the floor tiles cracked and rose harmlessly, with nothing to cut or grab. Judging that there was enough distance between the pair, Raven picked up a nearby armoured box with her dark energy, probably used for protecting the more expensive items during travel, and threw it at the girl.

Jinx ducked at turned to watch it go through the wall on the other side of the shop. "Are you _trying_ to kill me?" She looked up at the flying empath.

"I was going for unconscious, but I'll take either." Raven muttered as her eyes started glowing white again.

Jinx couldn't afford for Raven to have an upper hand on the attack, and did the first thing that came to her mind, hoping that improvisation would work for once. Running forward, she vaulted off one of the jewellery cabinets and grabbed onto Raven's ankle. Surprised, the Empath fell from the air, Jinx with her.

"What the _hell_?" Raven was only on her knees when Jinx threw a punch at her. She blocked it with one of her dark shields, before encasing her hand in the same energy and sweeping the villainess's legs out from underneath her.

_"Ooomph!"_

During her short drop to the floor, she caught a glance of Mammoth and Gizmo, realising the titans were beginning to overpower them. She didn't have time for this. Trying her first trick again, this time she smashed her hand onto the tiles near Raven's legs, and the tiles broke and moved, cutting into her hand as well as trapping the empath's left leg with sharp teeth.

"You had to make this so difficult, didn't you?" She asked the Empath who was struggling with her leg. She glanced around again to check all of the titans were preoccupied with fighting the other two member of the Hive. Happy that they were, she grabbed Raven's face with her bleeding hand, forcing the girl to look at her before roughly kissing her.

Raven froze, completely unsure of what was happening. The only thing that told her she was feeling something was the nearby glass cabinet that exploded, littering the two with crystal splinters some of which added more injuries.

Jinx pulled back, searching for something in Raven's eyes before shoving a slip of paper into the girl's hand. She winked, her hand moving out behind her, and Raven saw the wave of pink hexes hit the roof and walls. "Call me."

With that she scrambled to her feet and called for the boys to follow her as the building creaked loudly around them.

"She's bringing the building down!" Robin shouted. Raven thought about nicknaming him Captain Obvious as she tried to get her leg free of the pieces of tile, swearing when the movement just made her leg bleed faster.

"A little help here?" Raven shouted in an irritated voice as she broke off a piece of tile from the floor with her powers.

Cyborg ran over, and helped her pull out the bits of tile until the plaster started falling off the ceiling. "Sorry Rae – we're out of time." He scooped Raven up into his arms and stood, the last bits of tile either sticking into her skin or ripping out. She only just managed to stop herself from screaming, and another glass case exploded.

Cyborg ducked through the doorway and moved to the middle of the street where the rest of the Titans were stood.

"They got away." Robin said, frustrated, as he watched the building collapse.

"I'm going to kill her." Raven muttered through gritted teeth as she got a good look at her leg.

* * *

><p>Ta-DAH! What did you think? Reviews please xD Sorry about all the spelling mistakes etc, but I had a history exam today, and after writing two essays, you kinda of loose the will to live.<p> 


	3. Phone Number

Reviews:

**TaintedFlare: **HAHAHAHA! POOR Raven didn't even know what was happening...

_She's so oblivious sometimes *sigh* haha_

**Concolor44: **Jinx? Um ... hey, look, you might try something a little less DAMAGING to get Raven's attention. Permanent scarring isn't really the best way to a girl's heart. Capiche?

_haha! Yeah, Raven won't be too pleased xD_

* * *

><p><span>Disclaimer:<span> As I told you on the first chapter, and the second chapter, I don't own teen titans. I do have the seasons on DVD though xD Titans GO!

* * *

><p>Raven winced as Cyborg bandaged her leg up tight with the white bandage. "Why don't you go into your healing trance?"<p>

"It's not something I can control." She frowned. "It only happens when my body's taken extreme damage." She pointed to her leg. "This is not extreme damage."

"I dunno Rae, you have seven stitches. How 'bout your healing energy?"

"Again, it doesn't work on me. You'll be able to take the stitches out tomorrow night, probably."

"Just keep your weight off it." He shrugged, looking at his handy work. "Stay here. I gotta comb through your hair for glass, but I need help."

As soon as the door had closed, leaving her on her own, she opened her hand, revealing the tiny little strip of crumpled paper. She glared at it suspiciously as she opened it up, reading the spidery handwriting.

"A phone number?" She asked out loud in disbelief. "What the hell did she give me a phone number for?"

"Rae?" Cyborg frowned, coming back into the room with Starfire, "Who you talkin' too?"

"No one." She muttered, screwing the paper back up in her palm and trying not to look guilty. Of course, Raven was a pro with poker faces.

"I see your leg is bandaged. You shall be well again in no time." Starfire smiled at her friend. "Cyborg has asked me to help with the removing of the glass from your hair."

"Just let us know if you feel anything in your scalp. With your healing time, we want to get it out quick, or we'll be cutting it out." Cyborg added as he passed Starfire a fine-toothed comb. "Star, you do the left. We'll meet in the middle."

Raven's mood darkened impressively, to say she was all ready pissed off. She hated people touching her, and she hated people playing with her hair. The only time she had ever let anyone mess with her hair was when her and Starfire had the 'girl bonding sessions' that had stayed fairly regular after the Puppet Master disaster.

Instead of brooding over how much she wanted to rip off Cyborg and Starfire's fingers, she turned her mind back onto the slip of paper still hidden in her hand, and trying to figure out exactly what Jinx had been trying to do back at the jewellery store. Raven didn't understand why Jinx had _kissed_ her, and what the hell was with the phone number. Did she really expect Raven to get in touch with a _villain_ they'd been fighting for years? For a moment, the idea of tracing Jinx through the number on the crime scanner looked inviting, until she realised it was probably a fake number or one of those cheap disposable mobile phones. Or a stolen one. Something that could be thrown out.

Or maybe it was a trap. They could be waiting for the Titans to try and find them through the number, only to come under attack from the entire Hive academy. So then what was with the kiss? She hadn't thought Jinx would swing that way, and now that she thought about it, it hadn't exactly been unpleasant...

The bottle of disinfectant Cyborg had been using on the Empath's wounds not too long ago exploded as Raven tore her thoughts back onto something else; anything else.

Cyborg jumped, before chuckling. "That your way of telling me I found some glass?"

Raven blushed, glad she was facing away from her two friends. "No. Sorry. It's just the whole..." She rushed to come up with some plausible excuse for her loss of control. "I was in a bad enough mood anyway, and you know how much I _don't_ like to be touched."

_"Touched by __**them**__."_ A voice giggled in her head, and it was an effort for Raven not to answer the emotion out loud.

"Um hum, just try not to destroy the medical equipment. It's expensive."

"Sorry." She muttered again, wishing she had some privacy to she could tell her emotions to shut the hell up.

"_I know exactly what you want to say. I am in your head after all."_

"I need to meditate." She groaned unhappily. "How much longer do I have to sit here?"

* * *

><p>Just a short chapter but I'm bored, and trying to avoid revision. Poor Rae; first Jinx confuses the hell out of her, and then she has rampant emotions running round her head. I bet you can guess which one's decided to come play ;) Just in case someone got lost along the way, remember the episode Nevermore, season 1, where Raven has all those emotions inside her head? Well in <em>my<em> story, when Raven's powers go out of control due to stress or whatever, it's usually got something to do with the fact that one or more of her emotions other than Knowledge and Wisdom are talking to her. Only Raven can hear voices and not be crazy.

Annyywayyy please review. Tell me what you think. Can I improve? Of course I can, so how about you give me some tips on how.


	4. Meditation

**TaintedFlare: **so lemme guess, the unnamed emotion must be love, or maybe lust? nice! 1 day  
>and 3 chapters already! :P<p>

_Lust always comes before love :') and you'll just have to read and find out xD you're the first person I've gotten multiple reviews from on any story of mine, so virtual cookie for you!_

**Star Melody: **This was cute, can't wait to see what develops. Seven stitches isn't much though xD. I think I had ten or so behind my ear once. Still, we get the point that it's not just a scrape on the knee. I'm excited about your updates and the plot seems fun so far so update soon okay?

_Yeah, seven stitches isn't much, but it's more for the point that Raven rarely gets' seriously' hurt, I mean that girl gets thrown through building and is back in action in seconds xD Not to mention leg injuries are seriously painful all on their own. Thanks for the nice review : ) Just got back from an exam when i got the email, so it cheered me up nicely._

Heh, I know the feeling, which student haven't had to write novel length essay  
>and wish they could die :P<p>

**Spikesagitta:** And..Jinx kissed Raven :P Heh, not an original plot point, the kiss during a heist, and Jinx planning this earlier on...but hey it's JinxXRaven, I don't  
>care that much about the little details ;) Just give me the sweetness that is them! XD<p>

_not an original plot at all, but how else would she get Raven, and I really don't see Rae starting it by herself! Besides, it's just a little girl on gilr fun ;) my more serious works tend to have OC's lol. Thanks for the review anyway, and I'm glad you're enjoying it!_

And onwards with the story!

* * *

><p>"Hey Rav-" The large metal door whooshed shut as the empath rushed out of the common room, ignoring everyone. "-en." Robin looked to Cyborg and Starfire as they came out the door adjoining the common room to the infirmary. "She okay?"<p>

"I guess. She said she needed to go meditate." Cyborg answered.

"She is probably feeling the sour." Starfire added as she moved to sit next to her leader. "It is a rare occasion when she is beaten by her opponent in battle."

"So, I get beaten all the time." Beast Boy shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

"We don't know if that's what's bothering her." Robin intervened. "I'll check on her before dinner though. I know she's not a talkative person, but that _is_ the most antisocial she's acted in a while now."

"Meh. I say you leave the girl alone." Cyborg moved towards the kitchen. "She'll talk when she's ready, and it's not the first time her powers got temperamental over nothing."

"What's nothing for us is sometimes everything for her." Robin shook his head.

"Whatever bird boy – you're the boss man. BB, if you're planning to eat tonight, you're cooking for yourself."

"Like I'd let you spoil my tofu anyway. Just you being near it contaminates it." The green changeling quipped as he moved to join Cyborg in the kitchen.

"Friends, may I watch, for I wish to learn the cooking of earth, and my books don't seem to be helping me."

"Sure yah' can Star!"

* * *

><p>Raven sat staring at the slip of paper, having tried meditating, failing when she couldn't seem to focus. What <em>had<em> Jinx been playing at? Her brain replayed every situation or plan she could imagine that they girl could have been playing at, only to disprove them again and again. She flipped her communicator open, contemplating on calling the number. She didn't have to speak, but it would at least tell her who the number was too.

The knock on the door startled her, and she moved off the bed, pulling her hood up to fly over to the door, wincing when stretching her leg caused her pain. There was one advantage to healing quickly. Wounds didn't tend to last longer than a few days, a few weeks at the most. The disadvantage was everything happened at once. So as well as having the irritating tug of new skin from the scrapes, and the tight sensation of the stitches, bruises that she wouldn't have had for another few days if she'd been human were appearing, and her muscle ached, bad. Of course, if she'd been human she'd have had a lot more stitches, with some possible nerve damage that could have put her out of action for a month or two.

Opening the door a crack, she looked out to find her leader. "Robin?"

"Raven, are you okay?" He asked, slightly awkwardly.

"I'm fine. I just seem to be having trouble with meditation."

"Do you need to talk about anything?"

The empath felt herself blush at just the idea of telling him what Jinx had done, and she was glad she had put her hood up. "N-no. I'll be fine after I meditate. Really."

"Well, okay. And Cyborg's cooking, so dinner won't be too long. I'll come fetch you."

"Thanks." She slid the door shut and turned away, looking at her room. Deciding it wasn't going to help her mood any, she teleported herself to the roof. _Fresh air. That's what I need._

* * *

><p>Okkaayyy so comments. And the chapters are really short because it's just where I feel they should cut off. It also means I can write the next chapter sooner without running out of ideas and getting the dreaded writers block.<p>

Next up, we look at the Hive Five's reaction to Jinx's...thing (and btw, incase you didn't notice, I'm using the Jinx, Mammoth and Gizmo Hive Five, because I love the episode 'final exam' and I really just don't get Billy Numerous and it's hard to write Kyyd Wykkyd since he doesn't speak, not even sign.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! More reviews are defenatly welcome ;)


	5. Stupid witch

**TaintedFlare: **hahaha...BB really hates meat don't he, anyways can't wait for the next one!  
>good luck, really excited now...<p>

_With a passion. Ahh this bit should be interesting to write. Here's hoping you enjoy : )_

**Star Melody: **Didn't notice the H.I.V.E thing. I prefer the original three anyway since they were also so funny on the show. So far interesting. I can't really imagine Robin "fetching" anyone anything but, still doing a good job of keeping everyone in character aside from that one word choice. Keep up the good work! And thanks for the quick update, I saw the other chapter and went "yay".

_Aha! Fetch boy! Hmmm, I'll have to keep an eye on Robin's vocab. Thanks for pointing that out :)_

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you gave her a number? Do you know how easy it will be for them to track us down? How stupid ARE YOU?" Gizmo yelled in dismay upon entering the Hive Five lair.<p>

"Quiet! It's for a disposable mobile. If I don't get a reply in a day or two, I'll dump the phone and try again." She reasoned. "And you call _me _stupid. I'm not your leader because I'm easy to follow. I got it covered. You just worry about finding our next target."

"Yeah." Mammoth mumbled around a full mouth of food. "You need to chill; and have something to eat."

Jinx snarled in disgust at the gigantic teen's display of food. "No wonder we're always getting run off, with guys like you on the team."

"We're not the ones with a crush on the gothic freak." Gizmo retorted. "You're probably going soft on them."

"I didn't see them titans leave that building." Mammoth noted as he devoured a chicken-leg.

"I did, and Raven's leg looked fairly hurt, meaning they'll be less of a threat-" She turned towards the smallest member, "-So get looking for targets!"

The boy walked off muttering under his breath, much to the girl's relief. "I'll be in my room."

"Whatever." Mammoth muttered, just happy to be able to eat in peace.

Upon reaching her room, Jinx picked up the disposable phone off her desk and glanced at the screen before growling at herself in disappointment. "She probably won't call until at least tomorrow, if at all." She flopped back on her bed and frowned at the ceiling. "Like I care. This is all just about ruining the titans' reputation. Yeah, whatever Jinx. Keep tellin' yourself that. Stupid witch."

* * *

><p>Even super villains get lost up in the plot xD I would love it if someone could give me tips on writing for Mammoth, cause I obviously cannot write Mammoth's character. Sometimes he's really stupid, other times he's just a less funnier versions of beast Boy (vacant of sorts) and it confuses me.<p>

Anyway, reviews would be nice. Hope the chapter wasn't too short, Oh and she was calling Raven a witch, I think i made some reference to Jinx as a sorceress earlier in the story. Bad mistake! She manipulates chance and possibilities as far as I can tell just with a negative effect, she doesn't cast spells.


	6. Get 'em!

**TaintedFlare**: denial Jinx...denial, anyways, about that Mammoth thing, I always thought that  
>he could really really dense at sometimes but I feel that he'd make up for his lapses because I think he'd be like glue that keeps Jinx and Gizmo together, or maybe he has people-smarts, just stating an opinion though :P<p>

_Lol mammoth with people-smarts? :P I can see the bit about him kinda being the glue that keeps the team together though._

**Star Melody: **I think you're doing fine on mammoth. I laughed when he told Gizmo to eat  
>something, I don't know why but it was kind of funny. Anyway, love the Jinx<br>crush thing. It's really cute. I liked seeing the H.I.V.E. perspective and I  
>can't wait to read more so update soon pretty please!<p>

_Ahhh thankyou : ) I actually watched the episode with Kid Flash in it as I was writing so I could get a better feel to how Jinx would act – she's one of my favourite characters._

**Spikesagitta**: Jinx is a sorceress in the original comic where she appear i think, but the comic version of her has nothing to do with her animated cartoon version. In the comic she cast spells, but in the animated cartoon her power were turned into a meta power.

You could always write Mammoth as a big lumbering version of BB, this is fanfics, you don't have to be 100% accurate...just enough that the fans won't kill, maim and burn you :P

_In the comics Jinx also is bold, bare-foot and looks slightly Egyptian. She works with curses (?) more than other forms of magic and she's powerless without a connection to the Earth, or that's what I've picked up from the issues I've read with her in. I could also never imagine that Jinx getting with the comic Raven! Aha! (Actually Mammoth is kinda the only one who looks like his comic counterpart in the Hive Five) Since I watch the animation and read the comics, it just kinda slipped out – they rarely mention that Jinx is a meta-human, so sorceress just stays fixed in my mind xD_

_And yes, I might try that out with Mammoth, though I like the challenges of getting things exactly right. I am here, ultimately, to improve my writing. Since I'm only 17, instead of this being just a hobby, I'm hoping one day it can become more of a career : )not convincing with the so un-original story line, but this is just my 'time-to-have-some-fun story. Honest :')_

The alarm sounded just as the titans had settled down to eat. None of them were pleased to have their meal interrupted, but Cyborg was the most put out. And he was mumbling the whole way as they moved to the crime-scanner.

"It's the Hive Five again." Robin announced as he locked on to their location. "They're at the bank."

"They are so dead!" Cyborg decided. "No one interrupt Cy while he's eating!"

Robin looked back at the team's empath. "Maybe you should sit this one out. At least until the stitches are removed."

"No." Raven left no room for an argument, her tone immensely scary even though she hadn't raised her voice at all. She was going to find Jinx, and beat her to a pulp. Or question her; she decided that it would just be dependent on how angry she was still feeling when she reached the bank.

They all knew Raven hated sitting out of fights, but Robin picked up a flicker of anger through the bond they had shared since she'd entered his mind when he was having those dilutions of Slade. It was only the tiniest bit of emotion, but he instantly knew it wasn't because he'd suggested she sit this one out. It was something more than that. Saving the questions for later, knowing they didn't have the time, he nodded, and they made their way towards the T-car.

"Stop messing around!" Jinx scorned Gizmo as she watched him throw the money around that was coming out of the indoor cash-machine wired to his systems. "The Titans will be here any minute."

"You said so you're self, the witch's injured." Mammoth picked up one of the sacks full of gold from the vaults. "They're gonna be easy."

"Just because she's injured doesn't mean she won't show up!"

"Pffft! I got it covered; I wired the front door with an electrical field. They step through it, they're gonna be crispy-fried crud-munchers."

"This thing?"

"Whhaaa!" Gizmo spun round at the sound of Cyborg's voice, finding him standing with the rest of his team-mates by the door, holding two little pieces of metal not all that different from watch batteries. "How did you-"

"My sensors picked up the dangerous currents, and then it was a simple job to find the source and disconnect them."

"No fair, tin man! I spent weeks working on them!"

"This is getting a little old isn't it?" Robin asked, talking about the fight he knew was inevitable.

"You're the ones who are getting a little old." Jinx replied, eyes flickering to Raven. "Hive Five; get 'em!"

Mammoth dropped the sacks he'd been holding and charged at the group, head first. Cyborg met the challenge, and the two grappled and pushed, trying to over-power each other. Jinx, not interested in Raven this time, went for the green changeling. He was always amusing to fight. Noticing the attention, he morphed into a bull and charged at the pink girl, who deftly avoided him with a fancy somersault. He hated gymnasts. Robin charged at Gizmo, throwing freezing disks and the small boy. Raven hung back until she was needed. As the on-scene medic, it was her job to watch out for any injuries the team gained that could ruin their chances at capturing the villains. In other words, if someone looked like they had gained a life-threatening injury, and fighting against super villains that included broken bones or dislocated joints, it was her time to act.

Of course she had been planning on beating Jinx up. And maybe getting some answers, but unless Beast Boy changed his attention to one of the other villains – which wasn't likely to happen even if Raven joined the fight – she was stuck. She watched Starfire join Cyborg, and decided Robin looked like he could use some help. She rarely fought Gizmo, and she needed the distraction.

This time I have an excuse for the short chapter – I'm going out in an hour, and I need to get ready. The fight will continue next chapter! Thanks for all the reviews so far; it would be great if you could keep them coming ;)


	7. Questions

**TaintedFlare:** I love the way you write fight scenes...and since this is a Teen Titans fanfic, I hope to read more, really, fight scenes are next to the hardest to write, in my opinion anyways...

_Agreed; they are the hardest things to write, so I'm glad you like it! I'm always most worried about the fight scenes..._

**Spikesagitta:** Aww...no Jinx and Raven interaction this chapter...maybe the next chapter eh? :)

_I do have a storyline to tend to, as crap as it is ;) But it would be unfair to keep you waiting. You and Raven aren't the only disappointed ones, believe me xD_

**Concolor44: **I think it's a good idea for them to mix up who they fight from time to time. Keeps 'em sharp, and keeps things from getting 'rote'.

But ... if she's fighting Giz, she won't be able to beat up Jinx, which was sort of her goal.

_haha yeah, trust me, Rae wasn't happy, but then she knows her role within the team._

* * *

><p>Raven captured one of the bags of gold Mammoth had previously been tending to, and flung it at the small boy. Gizmo rose up on his mechanic spider legs in an attempt to dodge it and Robin froze the floor so the artificial limb slid out. The bald boy lost his balance and crashed to the floor, yelling.<p>

Raven heard another yell; this one much more familiar, and looked to see Beast Boy in human form trying to run and dodge Jinx's hexes. "Duude! What gives?" He asked. Her powers had always been formidable, but she's never been able to call upon her hexes this quickly. It reminded him of Raven when she had a power trip and went all demonic.

"What's the matter; afraid of a little bad luck?" She smirked. It was one of her more favoured phrases.

Raven glanced back at Robin to see his was easily holding his own against the tiny genius, before moving her focus onto Jinx. Beast Boy would still be there, so she wouldn't get her questions answered, but at least she would get the chance to throw her around a bit.

Picking up another sack of gold bars, she threw this one at the pink haired meta-human. She ducked it with ease, glancing at the empath while aiming one more hex and the ceiling above Beast Boy. Part of the roof collapsed on the changeling's head, effectively knocking him down.

Despite her fallen team mate, Raven smiled darkly. This couldn't have been more perfect. She threw a few blades of dark energy, making Jinx move. She was aiming towards the back of the room, where someone was less likely to over-hear or interrupt them. A smaller part of her was screaming she was going over bored with the angry-demoness thing, but a larger part didn't care. No-one hurt her without paying for it, but no-one, ever, was meant to confuse her to the point where it affected her meditation.

Jinx tried to throw a few hexes at the girl, but she deflected them with a shield. She could tell something was off from the way Raven was smiling. Raven _never_ smiled, and it wasn't a good smile. She glanced at her team-mates, looking for possible backup, suddenly feeling isolated when she saw they were all very busy with two titans each. Trying to shrug the feeling off, she looked back to the girl in front of her.

"Ya' know, it's nice of you to single me out and all, but you could have just called." She tried to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

Black tendrils appeared from under Raven's cloak and grabbed Jinx, slamming her against the wall, making sure her hands were held by her side so she wouldn't blast Raven with her hex energy. Jinx swallowed loudly, shivering slightly at the cold, dead feeling of the tendrils.

"I didn't know you were into the kinky stuff Rae."

The Empath ignored the jibe. She could feel the girl's fear. "What are you planning?" She growled, tightening her grip.

"W-what?"

"You know what."

"Ooh! That." She forced a smile. "I thought you were the smart one Rae."

Loosing her temper, Raven banged Jinx against the wall again, this time raising her up so her feet no longer touched the ground. "Why give me the number? What's it for?"

"My phone – duh! Why else does someone give you their number?"

"You must think I'm royally stupid."

"I'm starting too." She agreed.

"You'd better give me some answers now, or prison will be the last of your worries." Raven growled, leaning forward until her face was inches from Jinx's.

"Maybe I just wanted you to call me back."

Another tendril rapped itself round the meta-human's thin neck, squeezing lightly. "Try again."

"Maybe I don't have another answer-" The last of Jinx's sentence was cut short as Raven's grip tightened.

Her eyes flashed red. "You don't want to do this the hard way."

Jinx started struggling in fear, kicking out with her legs, trying to connect with the empath, high keening noises the only thing able to leave her throat. '_What the hell? This is- Raven is... All over a kiss and phone number?' _She couldn't believe it. Friday 13th was supposed to be her lucky day, not the day a superhero choked her to death.

Someone else obviously heard her struggles, and the boy wonder came to her rescue. "Raven, stop!"

The black energy dissipated, and Jinx collapsed to her knees, coughing as she deeply inhaled. Mammoth noticed the attack on his lead and ignored his current opponents as he charged at Raven. She sorceress, not completely recovered from her 'bad spell', met the challenge with an energy coated fist, sending the giant sprawling backwards. That was something they hadn't seen her do before.

Mammoth rose to his feet, ready to try again, but Beast Boy took advantage of his confusion and ploughed into him. Raven did know when he'd woken up, and she didn't care.

"Know what day it is?" Jinx asked the empath as she used the wall to help her stand. She flinched slightly as the girl turned her attention back onto her. Sure, Raven was scary, but it had to be done, it was their only way forward – or so she kept telling herself.

The unexpected question threw Raven off and she thought for a moment before finding the answer. "Friday 13th."

"It's your unlucky day." She chucked, her hand moving towards Raven, a strong wave of pink energy hit her before she could react, throwing her backwards and down onto the floor.

Raven noticed some of the excess energy hit Robin as he moved to finish of Gizmo. Jinx walked towards her, and her brain flashed back to earlier. She was worried the pink haired girl was going to kiss her again. And disappointed when she didn't.

"But seriously, call me. You don't want to keep a girl waiting. Gizmo!"

"On it!" The small boy replied, and there were two loud bangs before smoke began to fill the air.

Robin cursed as he tried to stand up, his stomach throbbing in pain. Jinx's hexes usually hurt, but he was aware he'd only caught the edge of it. He didn't understand where all this power had suddenly come from. Feeling helpless, he listened to the scuffled footsteps of the Hive Five leaving the building. At least they'd prevented the robbery.

"Everyone re-group outside by the t-car!" He shouted, probably louder than necessary.

"Dude that's twice in one day. Twice!" Beast Boy complained as he stumbled forward, before walking into a column. "Ouch! Who put that there?"

"I think I know why." Raven winced as she made it out of the building. Robin and Cyborg were already by the car, but the changeling and Starfire were finding it harder to navigate through the thick smoke.

"Yeah?" Cyborg asked.

"Well, she pretty much told me. It's Friday 13th. Jinx is bad luck. She must be getting some sort of... energy charge."

"I doubt it." Robin frowned. "It's just a load of superstition."

"So are demons." She muttered. "It's a plausible excuse for why we're suddenly suffering so much. We don't always beat them, true, but we don't fail this badly."

"Talking about demons." Robin changed the subject, and Raven already knew she stuck. After all, her explanation wouldn't make sense unless she told them about today's earlier events. Which was never going to happen. "What happened back then?"

"Ummm... Sorry. It won't happen again." She replied lamely.

"That isn't an answer."

"Maybe I don't have one right now." She replied in a heated tone, head snapping up to look at her leader. Seeing the guarded if not slightly scared expression on his face, she sighed and looked away again. "I told you earlier I was having problems meditating."

"Why?"

"Does there have to be a reason for everything?"

"Yes; and usually you think that way too. You're hiding something."

"Well then why don't you figure it out, detective boy?" She snapped, before shifting into her soul self and vanishing through the floor.

"Way to go." Beast Boy muttered, finally immuring from the building. "You should know by now irritating Raven when she's in this mood is never good for your health."

* * *

><p>Gizmo laughed from a near-by roof, passing Jinx his binoculars. "Looks like we don't need you to date the creep to break them up – they seem to be fine doing it by themselves."<p>

"But we still have the rest of the team to separate her from. What's one team member compared to three others?" She sighed impatiently.

"Yeah but, bird boy's their leader. He can kick her out." Mammoth spoke up.

"I doubt the other titans would allow it, and it's not _that_ bad yet."

"Yeah well, if there aren't any big results in a few days, I saw we forget this stinking plan and go back to old fashioned robberies." Gizmo snatched his binoculars back. "We aint got anything from these past two robberies. We need stuff to live off too ya' know."

"We'll head just out of town tomorrow morning and rob one of the smaller banks where the titans won't bother to come." She told him. "But then we get back to the serious stuff."

"Whatever."

* * *

><p>Ahh this may be my longest chapter yet! I'm actually getting frustrated with how long it's taking for the 'fun' *wink wink* to start (oh dear) but I guess I have to follow the plot. Man, I should have made it a 'one-shot'. Whatever. So how'd it go?<p> 


	8. Phone call

**TaintedFlare: **yessssss, listen to the all-knowledgeable Beastboy... who's specialties concern the art of royally pranking/irritating a half demoness destined to conquer and end all things mortal...

_By now he should be knowledgeable as to when Raven's reactions are going to be less likely to get him sent to another dimension, and when it definitely isn't a good time to mess with her haha_

**Spikesagitta:**Not the kind of interaction I was hoping for...I don't have a strangulation fetish :p

But at least it look like Raven want Jinx to kiss her again, that's a good thing :p

_Haha if you want the action without the build up read a one-shot. But don't worry, almost there now. Almost there. Maybe I should write a one-shot for yah? :P_

**Star Melody: **haha Beastboy would know about irritating Raven alright xD Robin should take  
>his advice. Good chapter.<p>

_why thankyou :)_

**Concolor44: **Methinks that Jinx's original plan might have undergone a bit of a sea-change. Also, Giz has a point. They gotta eat. And their last two efforts were unsuccessful in that respect.

_It's hard to pull of a heist when money/goods/food is the last thing on their leader's mind ..._

* * *

><p>She pulled out her communicator and the number she'd hidden under her pillow, quickly entering the number with only the briefest of hesitations before pressing the dial button. She'd never had need to use it before now, and a small part of her was hoping it wasn't functioning right.<p>

"Raven! You finally called."

Raven winced slightly at the sound of her voice, and debated hanging up. She really shouldn't have called. She was a superhero; she should have given the number to Robin the instant they reached the tower. After all, hadn't she almost killed the girl earlier.

"Yeah. I called." She replied after what felt like a minute, even if it was only a few seconds.

"Well you could at least _try_ and sound more enthusiastic about it." She could picture Jinx's shrug. "Ah well, It's not like I expected you to sound overly happy or something. That would probably actually scare me. So, you want to go on a date with me?"

"N- Sure." Moral conflict suddenly kicked a storm inside her head, a battle raging between Wisdom and almost all the other emotions but Timid and Rage. Timid taking to collapsing in upon herself while Rage sniggered to apparently no one. She was always angry, but she was still particularly angry at Robin for addressing her like he had. If anything was going to piss Robin off, it was dating the enemy. "How about you decide when and where."

"Hmm... well... the movies are waay cheesy, and I doubt there's a good horror on anyway. Not to mention I guess you want to be careful who sees us together – after all, you have your reputation to look after, not that _I_ need to tell you that. I know this nice place to eat – real quiet. Then maybe I'll show you another side of Jump I doubt you've been to before. I'll meet you central park at ten. It goes without saying that I expect you to wear everyday clothing and not your superhero garb, no matter how flattering it is."

"Right. I guess I'll see you at ten then." Raven answered slowly. "Don't think this means I trust you're intentions are what you claim. The slightest hint of a trap, and I won't hesitate to hurt you."

"Ditto. I even see a hair of one of your titan friends, and you'll be sorry."

Happy with their mutual agreement, Raven hung up before moving over to her wardrobe. She didn't even know what civi clothes she had, she wore them so little, and contemplated that a shopping trip might be in order. She hated shopping.

She heard someone knock at her door, and knew it would be Robin with the plan of either yelling at her some more or apologising. She didn't care which as she drowned him out.

* * *

><p>Another short chapter. BUT WE'RE GETTING THERE. Slowly. Reason for writing this so short. I decided that if the world is gonna end at 6pm in America (that's 11pm for us british) I want to have at least made the couple kiss. That doesn't mean I'm going to rush it though! I'm just dropping everything else (aka revision) in order to write this ;) After all, if the world does end, I won't have any need to revise.<p>

As always, I appreciate your comments. Oh, and what do you guys think about the whole end-of-the-world crap. Maybe we'll meet Trigon! I'm kinda exited tbh.


	9. 1st date part 1

**Please Read **(kinda important to the prior chapter) K,thanx :D

**Star Melody **brought up a very nice issue that I'd like to go over (i'll put her exact review beneath this) about Raven's sudden change in characteristics. After all, why would she be willing to suddenly call Jinx?

Though this isn't a plausible excuse (because that really is unexplainably NOT Raven's behaviour and there was little padding behind it to explain it)

Remember since Jinx's first 'attack' Raven hasn't been able to meditate, even though she really needed to (her own individual emotions surfacing and talking to her is NEVER a good sign (for anyone, might I add xD) so she will be a little out of her usual uptight self. Also, in the chapter 'questions' she was pretty angry with jinx. Killer demoness angry. Then Robin got in her way, asking questions she didn't want to answer, and then pushing her further. We all know how Raven hates that. So her anger kinda went from Jinx to Robin. And as she thought in the chapter 'phone call' if Robin found out a member of the team was dating one of the villains well, he wouldn't be happy. I'm pretty sure Rage can be very assertive when she wants to.

Raven also clarifies with Jinx that she doesn't totally believe the whole 'i want a date with you' thing, and isn't going all relaxed and 'hey, I'm on a date, this might be fun' That wouldn't stop her from feeling guilty though (as she knows she should have given Robin that number the moment she received it) which again has always been part of Raven's nature – self blame, and guilt galore.

So this chapter isn't going to be two girls having a good time (sorry to disappoint those few who have been waiting for it) And I hope that helps explain Raven's personality defect in the previous chapter!

And in a last ditch attempt to explain; Teen Titans, episode Spellbound (grr I hate that one! FU Malchior!) but Raven was VERY weird after Malchior showed his 'interest' in her. She'd probably be more careful not to allow that to happen again – especially since we're talking known villain here, but Raven's so used to controlling everything that her reactions to emotion can be a little unpredictable.

Thanks :

**Star Melody's review **(which I am very grateful for!) : lol the world is still here. Who knows about tomorrow though?

This chapter...I'm kind of confused about Raven's emotions. Last chapter, she was kind of like: "Jinx will die" and now she's: "Date? Okay!"...maybe that was exaggerated but it's what it felt like. Raven = Teen Titan, thus I'm not sure she'd just easily go out with a villain. Especially since her friends are so important to her. Maybe if she had an ultior motive to get Jinx in prison I'd believe she'd say yes even without telling the other titans (as to not blow her cover) but, to just say yes? I had a hard time believing she actually called too!

But whatever that was just my impression of this chapter. I still like the story.

_I hope that kinda answers your confusion StarM! If not, let me know, and I'll see about editing and re-posting that chapter to make it more believable! _

**Concolor44: **I think that must be the least sexy setup for a date I've ever heard of. Trust? What's that? Oh, yeah, that's something that people who aren't MORTAL ENEMIES can have with each other.

_Raven is many things - sexy isn't one of them haha! (well, not in the I'm-gonna-put-on-a-show-cause-i'm-miss-confidant kinda sexy) xD_

On to the story!

* * *

><p>Hood up, she leant against she tree she usually sat under when her and the titans visited Central Park, scanning the darkness for the pink haired teen, becoming for and more certain about her theory of this being nothing more than a trap – a poorly executed trap – with every second. She hadn't dressed up. Even if she'd been on a real date, she wouldn't have dressed up. It wasn't her style. So she found comfort in black jeans and a navy hoodie. She had a slightly nicer silky black tank top on underneath, but she wasn't planning on taking her hoodie off. Without her cape, that became her safety blanket. Checking the time on her communicator she sighed when she saw she was five minutes early anyway. None of the titans had seen her leave the tower so she didn't have any kind of time limit.<p>

She was starting to wonder why she had come.

"Raven! You're early."

She stiffened and turned to look behind her, up the path. Jinx had her hair down, and Raven was surprised to find it was quite a bit longer than her own. She was dressed in a black mini-skirt, her usual black and purple striped tights, and a purple strappy top. She had a small bag over one shoulder and was wearing a big smile.

"Aren't you cold?" Raven asked sceptically as she took in Jinx's outfit.

"Why? You offering me your hoodie?" She grinned.

"No. It was an observation."

"If ya' say so Rae-Rae. Actually I'm surprised you showed up. And not a Titan in sight. You have an argument?"

"What?" Raven frowned.

"Did you have an argument, with one of the titans?"

"Why?"

"You're Robin's little soldier." She laughed. "Everyone knows you never do anything wrong."

"You'd be surprised." She muttered, thinking about Malchior and her father's brief time on earth.

"So, who was it? The alien? Beast Boy? Naw I bet he gets on your nerves a lot. Scratch that. Cy's kinda cool; I don't think it would be him (A/N: Cy's time undercover at Hive Academy). It was Robin, wasn't it?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. I'm just interested. Like I said, there's not much that makes you step out of line."

"He wanted to know why I almost strangled you." Raven muttered glancing away from the villain.

"I was wondering about that too actually." She pulled a face. "But that was it? He asked some questions?"

"No." Raven answered, before sighing. "Whatever. It's not like you'd understand."

"Suit yourself. Well, I'm kinda hungry." She started walking; glancing back to make sure Raven followed her.

The empath hesitated, feeling worse about being here with every second that passed, but finally moved forward. She hadn't had anything to eat all day, and she _was_ hungry.

"Like I said on the phone, it's a small place. It'll probably be almost empty this late, but the food's nice, and the price isn't bad. They have a good choice too." Jinx cringed at the lack of conversation she was getting from her 'date', but always knew it would have been a challenge as soon as her brain came up with the plan to pull the titans apart. "So, why did you strangle me?"

Raven arched her brow. "I thought it was sort of obvious."

"Well... a little. But it seemed a little extreme. I mean, it's obvious you liked that kiss, or you wouldn't be here now."

Raven's eyes narrowed and she didn't know whether to feel angry or embarrassed. She bit her lower lip as she contemplated what she could shout at the girl without giving too much away about exactly how unstable she could be.

"Let us not forget my leg." She finally growled, knowing Jinx wouldn't buy it before she'd even said it.

"That little scratch? I've seen you take a lot more damage than that and continue fighting."

"If it had been Robin or Beast Boy-"

"They would have had permanent tendon damage, nerve damage, and serious blood loss. Yeah I know. But it wasn't them. Sure it may have irritated you a little, but it wasn't worth strangling me over."

"That sad guy Dr Light told me about the time you went all freaky fighting him." Jinx continued when she saw Raven wasn't going to say anything. "You did the whole red-eyed-mistress-of-doom. He used to ask the guard for a night-light." Jinx smirked. "Pathetic." Raven hid a smile, but didn't understand what this had to do with anything. "I saw your eyes flash red when you first attacked me. What causes that? I mean, it's not very human, is it? My eyes go pink when I'm using my powers, and yours go white, but red?" She turned to look at Raven, only to find her walking off in the other direction.

"Whoa! Wait!" She ran after the girl. "What did I say? Raven!" The empath ignored her, momentarily forgetting she could just teleport away. "Come on; what did I do?"

"Piss off Jinx."

"Hey, you called me, remember? Just tell me what I said wrong." She was very aware Raven hardly swore, if ever.

"Does it matter?"

"Well, yeah. Obviously."

Raven stopped and looked at the pink haired girl. Her face was as blank as usual, but Jinx could see something moving behind her eyes. She frowned, "Raven what's wrong."

"You wouldn't understand."

"You've said that twice now." Jinx noted. "Whatever it is, it's something that doesn't fit in with the whole saving-the-world crap isn't it?" She saw Raven flinch, and hid a smile '_Jackpot'_. "Well, try me. I'm not a titan. I'm not some goody two shoes. You'd be surprised."

"I shouldn't have come." She started walking again, and Jinx moved to keep up with her.

"As a titan, no, you shouldn't have. But you're already here, so why don't we at least get something to eat? I'm not gonna make you stay out after that if you don't want to."

Seeing that Raven wasn't planning on changing her mind, she grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her back in the opposite direction. They were both of almost equal height and weight, so the only thing that gave Jinx any success in dragging Raven back was the empath's momentary surprise.

"Jinx, what the hell are you doing?" Raven asked sharply.

"Taking you out for something to eat. I'm hungry, and you probably are too. How thick are you?"

* * *

><p>Haha soooo. Comments? Hopefully Raven's acting more like herself in this one. Anyone figure out what Jinx said to upsetpiss off Raven? Come on; it's easy ;)


	10. 1st date part 2

**Spikesagitta: **Her demon heritage of course :) Yeah this does feel more like the Raven we  
>come to love ;)<p>

_YAY! Seriously, Raven out of character bugs me. A lot. She's perfect as she is. Oh, and you guessed right! But it's not worth a cookie. Sorry._

**TaintedFlare: **Go Jinx! drag that **-off demon! can't wait :p sorry for not updating on the  
>last chapter, my computer glitched<p>

_Haha! Not wise Jinx, not wise. That saying, she doesn't know... yet. No problem – that you comment as often as you do is a blessing : )_

**Concolor44**: Yes, that was a pretty good in-character Raven. "** off, Jinx." Delivered, I am sure, in a deadpan.

Raven doesn't like to be reminded so forcefully that she isn't entirely human, and it's not like that is common knowledge. When Jinx finds out (if Raven admits to it) that her 'date' is half demon, I'm wondering whether SHE will want to stick around for the denouement.

I wouldn't, in her shoes.

_Poor Raven! You can't say that. Come on, you've got to admit there's a certain... attraction towards the whole half demon thing! 0_o Well, I'm kinda interested in whether Jinx will stick around if she finds out. Might have bargained for more than she thought, if yah know what I mean (oh and thanks for the new word to add in my mental dictionary!). I'm glad she's back in character. Seriously I have been kicking myself for that previous character. _

Don't you just love that feeling you get when you're brushing up on your knowledge of the characters? You remember the episodes they were in, the epic battles. Then you remember the show was cancelled. And become depressed. I think I need help...

* * *

><p>"Neat, huh?" Jinx asked, dragging Raven to a back table.<p>

"You can let go of my arm now." She muttered. "I can assure you, it would be a waste of effort to return to the tower now since we are already here."

"Way to ruin the mood." Jinx replied. "You're the one who-"

"Yes, you keep reminding me. I do have a memory span longer than a goldfish, thanks."

Jinx laughed as she sat down at the decided table. There were only two other couples in here, and they were conveniently sat towards the front of the small restaurant. "Almost everything's nice here. Just, don't order any of the specials." She waited for Raven to sit down before picking up her menu. She only scanned it before putting it back down, and Raven guessed she was a regular here.

She scanned her own menu, slightly surprised at how much choice there was. The place wasn't huge. She would have questioned the opening times too – or at least the times when they stopped cooking certain meals, but Jump was known for its all night catering, which especially came in useful for the titans after a particularly late mission; the Pizza Parlour was always open until about three in the morning.

"So, blue still your favourite colour?"

"What?" Raven frowned at the girl over the menu.

"You had an awful lot of blue in your room last time I was in the tower – I assumed you like the colour."

Her eyes narrowed, and Jinx knew she'd hit another bad topic. She seemed to be doing that a lot. "Don't think you're forgiven for that."

"For taking the tow-"

"Going into my room." She cut her short. "No one should ever go into my room."

"Right... well... I didn't take anything." She forced a smile. "So, is blue your favourite colour?"

"What's it to you?"

"It's called small talk. People do it to pass the time and avoid awkward silences. You really don't get out much, do you?"

"Hmph." She continued to scan the menu, otherwise ignoring the girl.

"Come on! Loosen up a little! You can't be like this twenty four seven!"

"Well I am. Sorry to disappoint. It seems your decision to 'get my attention' was ill-placed."

"Nah, I'll just have to work on getting you out of your shell. You're making _me_ depressed."

"I'll consider that an achievement."

"Not a good one." Jinx shook her head. "If you're not going to tell me your favourite colour, how about your favourite band?"

"I don't have one."

"Come on, everyone has a favourite band."

"I'm not everyone."

"Film? Celebrity? Season? Football team? Sport? Book?" Jinx was close to tearing her hair out when the waitress walked over.

"Are you ready to order?"

"Thank god, yes!" She felt saved. For the moment. Who knew it would have been this hard to even strike a conversation? "Ugh, the chicken pasta please."

"And for you?"

Raven sank into a whole new level of uncomfortable. "The risotto."

"And what can I get you to drink?"

"Cola, thanks."

"Water."

The waitress hurried off with a shaky smile, feeling the tension herself.

"So, you still didn't tell me why you felt like killing me earlier."

"What makes you think I'm going to give you an explanation now?"

"Nothing. It just got more of a conversation out of you than anything else has so far."

"Why don't you just give up?" Raven sighed and she crossed her arms on the table.

"Because I'm not a quitter. If you were raging mad at me a few hours ago, why did you call?"

"I'm wondering that myself."

"You get angry at me, Robin gets angry at you... and _then _you call me? So what am I, distraction? Payback?"

"If you were a distraction, I'd be talking to you more." The empath replied dryly.

"True. So I'm payback? Robin got all testy at you so you thought you'd piss him off by going out with me?"

"He's not going to know about this, so he can't be pissed off about it."

"But he still would be hypothetically."

"Unlike you, Jinx, I don't spend my time plotting schemes."

"And that's where you're going wrong. I keep asking you why you tried to kill me because it's obvious that isn't titan behaviour, and being a titan, something boy-blunder doesn't accept, right? Well, I'm the opposite of a titan, so it makes more sense that I would understand it, right? So why don't you talk?"

"Because it has nothing to do with being a titan." She replied. "You still wouldn't get it. You'd have exactly the same reaction to everyone else."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

"Obviously, you don't."

"And pray tell me, why is it obvious?"

"Because you haven't tried it yet." Jinx smiled. "I rob, steal, vandalise, and fight with complete happiness. Your friends have too many hang-ups. It comes with being a hero. I seen it with Cy. I mean, he's a nice guy, but there are some things he just doesn't understand and doesn't want to. I'm guessing the same applies to the rest of them."

"I was angry – does there need to be any more of an answer than that?"

"Nope."

"No?" Raven wasn't quite sure she'd heard the girl correctly.

"What, are you saying there's more to it?" She smiled, and Raven glared at her.

"I give up!"

"Give up what? Being so uptight? Good because it was irritating me too."

"Jinx-"

"What? You're the one who said it!"

"And you are the one twisting my words."

"So what are you giving up?"

"You just took anger for being a perfectly reasonable explanation to why I tried to kill you now, but ten minutes ago outside you didn't?"

"I didn't say that! I said it was an extreme reaction to my kiss earlier; by you saying angry, you didn't specify it down to just my actions, meaning it could be due to a whole bunch of other things."

"Will you stop that?" Raven hissed.

"No. Because now you know how it feels."

"You're trying my patience."

"And you've been irritating me for a lot longer. You're out of uniform, no one's gonna recognise you, so for once can you not be a titan. Being a titan is your job. It isn't who you are. So how about you answer my first question?"

"Your first question?"

"Yeah; your favourite colour still blue?"

* * *

><p>Gotta give Jinx credit for how hard she's trying! Bless her. Of course, she's still telling herself it's for the sake of her 'team'. Even if she is only finding new ways to anger Raven. She'll get it right eventually. R&amp;R as always please!<p> 


	11. 1st date part 3

**Spikesagitta: **Jinx word twist had me...going in circle there. I can feel Raven's pain :P

Jinx really has Raven stumbling, at least mentally, to get back her foothold huh? Keep her confused...and go in for the kill, so to speak? :)

_Yes, I shared Raven's apin writing it. And Raven needed someone to trip her up, so to speak lol. _

**Concolor44: **Good Lord, I HOPE Jinx'll "get it right" before too long. All she's doing so far is pi$$ing Raven off. Not to be a parrot, but I'll just say again: that is not really the way to a girl's heart.

Raven hasn't revealed anything yet. She made a half-hearted allusion ("... it has nothing to do with being a Titan. You still wouldn't get it.") to her other-worldly origin, but that's it to date.

I think (maybe just wishful thinking on my part) that Jinx is getting a better idea of what it means to be Raven. I also think that's going to derail Jinx's "plan" before too long.

I am LOVING the frequency with which you update. Thank you for that.

_Jinx isn't stupid, I'm sure she'll eventually figure it out. Yeah, Jinx's plan doesn't look very successful, however I doubt she's gonna tell her boys that – Gizmo would never overlook her failure and 'waste of time' And I'm glad you like my frequent updates. Because my revision doesn't! xD But being a writer that tends to just let the story flow where it wants, I'm always itching to find out what happens next._

**Star Melody: **This chapter was pretty good. I enjoyed the conversation. But if no one knew  
>she was a titan before they will now if they overheard Jinx :D, luckily the place wasn't crowded.<p>

_If Jinx thinks she has problems now... She wouldn't survive it if she blew Raven's identity xD_

**TaintedFlare: **You almost get to make her answer a question, and you ask about her favorite  
>color! *gasp* wow jinx, just wow...<p>

_Haha, that girl needs to get her priorities right xD_

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?" Raven asked, watching the girl pick up the receipt.<p>

"It's called paying – you know, that thing you're meant to do?"

"I'm not letting you pay!" She hissed, snatching the little bit of paper off her.

"Why not?"

"Because any money you have is either stolen, or the product of stolen goods!" Raven replied, careful not to speak too loud. There was only one of the two previous couples left – but two pairs of ears were more than enough.

"You don't know that."

"Do you have a day job over than stealing?"

"No."

"Do your parents still keep in contact or send you money?"

"Well...no."

"Exactly. I am not being paid for with your stolen money."

"So, gonna take me down to the station and make me give it back?" She grinned like a Cheshire cat as she leaned back in her chair.

The empath took a deep breath, disappointed when it didn't calm her down. "Don't push me."

Jinx shrugged, but stayed quiet. After an hour of battling through questions she'd just about figured out Raven's 'boiling point' or the 'point beyond return' and she knew she was getting close.

The waitress walked back over and she pulled out the money from jean pocket. "I hope you enjoyed your meal."

"Sure." She muttered in reply as she stood up, moving towards the exit.

"Here's yah tip." Jinx smiled, giving the woman a small extra bill.

Raven stopped on the spot, and turned round to face the villain. Knowing her 'date' was about to explode, she quickly moved forward and pushed Raven out of the small restaurant by her shoulders. "Yell at me when we're outside away from listenin' ears."

Raven waited until they'd made their way back onto central park, her irritation just building with every step.

"I told you I didn't want you using your money!"

"Oh come on, it was only a little bit. She deserved a tip – the foul mood you were in."

"Oh and I wonder who's fault that was."

"Can you really not see me as anything other than a villain? Do you want everyone to just see you as the moody Titan for the rest of your life?"

"It's a damn sight better and what some people have seen me as." She replied, finally angry enough that she wasn't thinking what she was saying.

"So you're just hiding behind a cover some journalist put on you?"

"Jinx-"

"Well just because some people are so... worried about what the world thinks doesn't mean everyone else is. Stop giving me such a shallow over view!"

"Why not? You rob and steal and you've hurt plenty of people in the process. You're nothing but a bad person."

"Says the girl who would have killed me earlier if your leader hadn't intervened."

Something exploded close to them, but neither knew what it was.

"Ooh, did I hit a nerve? Apparently you don't even have total control over your powers. Isn't that a little dangerous for a hero?"

There was the sound of a few more objects breaking, and Raven turned on her heel, walking as fast as she could.

"Oh no you don't!" Jinx yelled, running after her. "You do not get to insult others and then just walk away from them yourself!"

"Do you not understand yet?" Raven stopped to face her, and Jinx paused in shock, noticing the first glimmer of tears in the empath's amethyst eyes. "Do you not understand what I am? I haven't been able to meditate all fucking day because of you and this isn't even close to how bad it could get! I _know_ what people think about me, alright? And I know exactly what is wrong with me; so stop wasting both our time and piss off!"

Still in shock, Raven had almost managed to exit the park before the pink haired teen caught up with her.

"So that's it? You have a bit of a bad streak and the titans make you bottle it up? That's hardly healthy."

"I told you it has nothing to do with me being a titan."

"Yeah? Well it looks like it does." She waited for Raven to answer, but continued when she didn't get one. "Superheroes don't go around hurting people 'cause they're angry, and it's obvious Robin has issues with whatever part of you that's causing it so-"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Stop saying that! Before I hit you!" She threw her hands in the air. "How stubborn are you?"

"And why don't you give up already?"

"Because I knew this wasn't just gonna be some walk through the park – no pun intended- and sometimes you have to fight for the things you want."

"Like you'd know about that." Raven muttered sourly.

"There we go again! I still have a few things I can throw in your direction too, ya know."

"Then why don't you."

"Because I don't want to argue with you! I didn't ask you out on a date to irritate you."

"Could have fooled me."

"Just listen to me Raven, just for a minute, yeah? I'm not doing this to judge you – I already did that a long time ago. I just want to get to know you as an individual. So stop with the whole I'm-a-titan crap and be yourself. And from the sound of it you don't even get to do that much in that tower of yours."

"And why would I do that when I already know I can't trust you?"

"Fine." Jinx took a deep breath before taking the plunge, knowing the boys would have a cow if she knew she'd done this. However Raven had come here without involving the titans. "Hi, I'm Jinx. Lucky to my friends, and Jenny to my family (A/N the comics are yet to tell us Jinx's true name, but I think Jenny suits her) I dropped out of high school to go to Hive academy, and left my folks after my powers almost buried them under our family home. Well, more my dad kicked me out if fear of it happening again with worse consequences. It's nice to meet you. And if you really want to check that's my background story, you'll easily find it on your database – just not linked to me. The school was careful to keep it separated – as they did with all their students."

"What was _that?"_

"I know you're not going to tell your friends, or we wouldn't be here and Robin would have be tracking that number I gave you hours ago. And look, no trap –no sign of my team-mates. If I wanted to carry out an ambush of some sort, it would have happened while we were in the park earlier. Stop being so damn suspicious."

"You're a thief! Of course I'm going to be suspicious of you."

"Well, I'm not here are a thief, or part of the Hive. I don't know what Robin's drilled into your head, but your superhero identity isn't all you are. My villain identity isn't either. Even guys like Slade take a month or so off to step back into the real world, in case you haven't noticed. Otherwise we'd be at your throat every second of every day we weren't in jail or scheming. Kinda funny, how that _isn't_ the case."

"Stop bringing the titans into this! It has been going on for a lot longer than that; let me assure you."

"Well if you bloody told me I would stop making assumptions wouldn't I? You know what, fine. Don't tell me. I'll meet you at the time in three day – please try and be in a better mood?"

Raven watched in disbelief as she walked off. "Who said I'm going?"

"No one. But I'll be there anyway."

Muttering under her breath, Raven teleported herself back to the tower's common room. She moved over to the kettle, so caught up in her silent rant that she didn't notice the masked teen sitting at the counter.

"Where have you been?"

Raven jumped and turned to the sound of the voice, trying not to look to guilty. "Out."

"I noticed." He motioned his coffee mug in the general direction her outfit. "You hardly ever wear your civi clothes."

"I needed some time to think – that meant not being recognised." She turned back to the kettle, putting the water to boil before searching the cupboards for her tea. "Why are you still up?"

"The police faxed me. People have been disappearing."

"What?" She poured the water, dunking her teabag before leaning against the counter and watching her leader.

"People have been disappearing. Well, young women aged 18 to 25, usually petite. The police are worried we have a serial killer, so they want us on alert. They're pretty sure that whoever is behind it is a normal human, but they won't know until they get their first body.

"And here I thought our biggest problem was meta-humans."

"Raven, earlier with Jinx-"

"Rage was a little out of control." She quickly muttered. "I hadn't been able to meditate after that first attack, and she doesn't like being beaten by anyone."

"So you've got it under control?"

She shrugged. "I'm going to meditate now. Maybe... I should be paired with someone else for tactics against them. Jinx and I almost always depend on hand to hand combat due since our powers are too unstable to use in close quarters, and quite frankly it's not getting us anywhere. Either of us have any particular strength as combat fighters; we just brawl until one of us gets the upper hand."

Robin sighed. "That's now both you and Cyborg who have requested to ultimately fight anyone but Jinx."

"You know what, forget I said anything. You just do whatever you think it right." She stood up and moved towards the common room doors, her head echoing Jinx's words from earlier.

'_You're Robin's little soldier. Everyone knows you never do anything wrong.'_

* * *

><p>"So, how'd it go?" Gizmo asked as he heard Jinx walk into the room. "The witch on our side?"<p>

"Idiot, you can't just go on one date and get everything – not if you wanna do it right. We're meeting again in three days. I did get some interesting information though. Seems like she's not the perfect little soldier everyone thinks she is. She'd hiding somethin' that the titans don't like. When she strangled me, it was because she was angry – simple as that apparently. That's what her and bird-brain argued about. That means I know exactly how to set in doubts regarding her team. So we got plenty of time for normal robberies."

"Good 'cause we're runnin' out of food." Mammoth grumbled.

* * *

><p>Comments? Is Rae still in character? (you got me all neurotic now haha)<p> 


	12. Lucky

**TaintedFlare **: Mammoth, all you ever think about is food...I wanna see how Raven's other emotions play into this :P

_They are being awfully quiet... _

**LilithRyoka: **Well, seems I haven't reviewed this one yet. Shame on me.  
>Now,I picked up a bit of an improvement in your grammar since this fanfic started, so congratulations are in order. You'll receive Vanilla Crazy Cake at the end of the world, yes? It's so moist and delicious. Can't you just taste it through your imagination? I sure can.<br>Now, there were a few chapters when Raven was a little bit OOC, but how couldn't she be? After all, this is not a normal situation, so no one would know how she'd truly react. So let's just say she was a bit out of herself, and returned later, yes?  
>And your Jinx, oh, treading in very dangerous waters, indeed. I wonder how she will react when the truth sucker punches her in the face? Will it be of terror, or lust? Ultimately, those two reactions are the ones Daemons get the most, no?<br>P.S.: Poor Gizmo. Jinx should know that kids require lots of food in order to grow properly - something that he sorely needs.  
>Now, Jinx is really not the best on dealing with Raven, yes? Sometimes it feels as if she's trying to push all towards the destruction of the whole universe, other, I think she's just trying to strike the usual conversation, and, in even others, she is trying to be flirty, in a weird, unsuccessful way. The way things are going, I believe the first option is the one that will most<br>likely happen. Of course, there will be no true believers ascending towards Paradise, nor five months of pure agony. Although Raven could think on the latter, yes.  
>P.P.S.: Robin does enjoy ordering his little soldiers around, eh? A game of manipulation truly learned from Batman, indeed. Just not as subtle as the dark cowl's owner.<br>Now, let's see what this possible serial killer will offer towards the story, eh? Waiting for your next chapter, truly.

_Ahh glad to hear my grammar's taken a turn for the better : ) I was actually re-reading it when I noticed and had a little cringe. I'm waiting for that cake with baited breath xD Hmm Raven is pushing Raven a little hard, no, but I'm sure she's just testing the waters. After all before now she's only really ever fought against the girl. End-of-the-world due to Jinx irritating Raven would be a nice twist though. And I'm glad you're enjoying it : )_

**Spikesagitta: **I think she's pretty much in character, I mean after all the original series  
>doesn't have Jinx kissing Raven and asking her out, and so yeah it will have<br>to deviated somehow, so it's fine to be a little OOC.

_Hmm, true point, but still there is OOC within reason and OOC within what-the-fuck-have-you-done-to-the-character :'D_

**Concolor44: **Whew! Lots going on here. Raven is still being VERY evasive about her background. Jinx has done enough exploring to be able to gauge when to pull back before Raven detonates. Sort of. There in the park, she kinda pushed it.  
>The more I think about it, the more I can see Jinx's point: Raven could easily slip over to the Dark Side. Her natural predilection goes that way. It is only through her meditation and constant vigilance that she DOESN'T go off the deep end and start a little world-ending of her own. But I guess the point really is that she doesn't want to. She WANTS to be a good guy. Does<br>Jinx understand THAT?  
>At least to her buds, she still seems on-track for her original plan. I still say that'll get derailed the closer she gets to Raven.<p>

_Hmm, Jinx does seem to be doing nothing be running into trees, instead of moving around them. _

* * *

><p>Raven was the last to enter the common room, having decided to spend longer meditating than usual. Everyone had crowded into the couch; except for Robin, who was stood by the main screen.<p>

"What did I miss?" She frowned suspiciously as she went about making her morning up of tea.

"Remember that I told you about the fax the police gave me?"

"About the possible serial killer?"

"Yeah. They found a body."

"And they told you this soon because?"

"They didn't find any tool marks. They don't know what killed her." He didn't look happy. Then again, with a possible killer on the loose and no clues as of yet, there wasn't much to be happy about.

"And they want our help?"

"They sent us the details in a report. If we could figure out what it could be-"

"There aren't any pictures, are there?" Beast Boy asked as he turned a shade paler.

"I've already studied them. There's nothing on them. It looks like the victim just died in her sleep."

"But they're classing it as a murder?" Cyborg frowned. "Isn't it a little too soon to draw up such conclusions. Shouldn't they wait for another body?"

"Do you want to wait for another body?" Robin asked gravely. "Batman was able to work of the minimum of clues – we should be able to as well."

"Hey, we're not trained detectives." Beast Boy protested. "We're teenagers that fight petty super villains. We don't deal with murderers."

"Trigon was a murderer of millions. The Brotherhood of Evil hardly had clean hands either." Raven muttered as she finished making her tea and joined the others on the couch.

"I'll read you through the things that stood out to me. Maybe we can figure out a lead." It was obvious from his voice that he believed in that statement as much as Beats Boy. "Okay, so like I said, no markings from any weapon or tool, no traces of poison, no evidence of drowning or electrocution, no evidence of suffocation-"

"You can tell if someone died from suffocation?" Beast Boy frowned.

"Their lips are usually tinged blue, but on occasion they'll have fibres of the material used to suffocate in their mouth and lungs." Robin shrugged. "No odd bruises to show strangulation had occurred. However the girl's nails had been ripped, almost like she's been digging at concrete. Her finger-tips were pretty scraped up too. They didn't find any fragments of material or skin there though. The police are pretty certain she was moved to the location where they found her after death too."

"He knows what he's doing then." Cyborg muttered.

"It could be a she." Raven pointed out.

"My bad."

"Please, but... why would someone do this?" Starfire frowned. "Were they perhaps enemies? And what is a serial killer?"

"They target their victims depending on a certain trait they might have." Robin explained. "Usually they'll keep doing it until they get the perfect kill. Of course that never happens. Why they do it is a mystery. It could come from a hatred of someone, or just a mental instability."

"And do the police have any idea on who they're targeting?"

"There are a few missing person cases of petite women, usually at the end of their teenage years and into young adulthood." Robin looked at Raven, and she gave him an exasperated look.

"I may be the smallest titan to date since Beast Boy's growth spurt, but I'm not _that_ small."

"Regardless, I want you to be careful."

"Hmph. What more do the reports say?"

"That's it. The Commissioner's added a note that it's cleaned up a little too well. He's convinced that it's some meta with the ability to hide things."

"It could be glamour." Raven nodded slowly. "It's relatively easy to achieve, though feats like this would take a lot of magic and control."

"Is there any way for you to know for certain?"

"Not without seeing the body. If it _was_ magic, I'd be able to sense it."

The siren lit up, and Robin turned to the crime scanner. "Warehouse 7 by the docs – the silent alarm's been triggered. We'll discuss this later."

* * *

><p>"I thought these warehouses aren't used." Beast Boy muttered and they circled the premises.<p>

"They're not –or they aren't meant to be. But it's still owned property." Cyborg replied. "And after that little stunt Slade pulled in Peer 14, we can't be too careful."

"Hmph. He used the building as nothing more than a lead – hoping to take us out with his Slade-bots." Raven shook her head. "There's nothing round this side of the building." She wrinkled her nose. "I'll be glad to get out of here. It smells like something died in one of the trashcans."

"I don't smell anything." Cyborg frowned, taking a big whiff. "Nothing but the sea air."

"I'm with Raven, something does smell a little off."

"Since when did you have a sense of smell like BB's?" Cyborg frowned at the empath.

"There is a reason for why I try not to use the corridor outside Beast Boy's room." She replied dryly, to Cyborg's amusement.

"Hey! That's not-"

"Robin calling."

Cyborg answered his build it communicator. "Yo man, what's up?"

"We've found a door that's been forced open. Re-group at my position."

"On our way."

"That smell's getting worse." Raven muttered as she covered her mouth and nose with her hand after a minute of walking.

"I still don't smell anything."

"It just smells like before." Beast Boy shrugged. "I'd morph into a blood hound, but from the way Raven's suffering, I think I'll pass."

"Someone forced in the back entrance, I'm guessing with a crowbar- Raven what are you doing?" Robin frowned taking a double take.

"Protecting my sense of smell."

"From what?"

She didn't answer until she reached her leader and Starfire, looking inside the door. She could feel her stomach churning with disgust and she tried to only take in small breaths. "It smells like an outhouse and... a butcher's shop that was abandoned with the meat still in it."

"But friend, I do not smell anything." Starfire frowned, confused.

"I do, but I'm only getting brief whiffs. I know I'd be able to smell it better if shifted, but I don't _want_ to smell it." Beast Boy shook his head.

Robin frowned at Raven. "Since when it your smell better than Beast Boy's?"

"It isn't. With most things. Of course one of the few things I am more sensitive to is flesh."

"Heritage?" Cyborg guessed, and she nodded.

"I think we might have to call the police. Something tells me we've been left a gift."

"No. We'll check it out first. If we're lucky it's just a dead animal."

"Since when have we been lucky?" Raven asked, but followed Robin even though her senses were screaming at her to go in the opposite direction. "Scan the area." He ordered upon seeing it was a maze of old crates and boxes.

"I can believe I'm doing this." Raven muttered, pulling her hand away from her nose, before moving around the large building, following the stench.

She could hear the others also moving about with no particular pattern, shouting comments to each other. She noted dryly that is wasn't going to give them the element of surprise if someone alive was in here.

Working her way the maze, she paused when she realised she'd pretty much lost all her sense of smell but for the rotting flesh. "Robin?"

"What? You found something."

"I'm pretty certain it's somewhere close to me."

"Well tell me if you find something. I've got to finish my first section."

She cursed him under her breath. Robin had seen plenty of murders in Gotham. She had been hoping to shove him round the corner. Taking a deep breath – and instantly regretting that decision, she closed her eyes before stepping round. Slowly opening her eyes...

Only to slam them shut again. Fighting down the bile that rose in her throat, she veered back around the corner, leaning on one of the crates for support. "Robin!"

"What?" She could hear he was getting impatient. Probably frustrated that _he_ hadn't come across something.

"Call the police. I found our body. Only... this wasn't a clean kill."

Sick curiosity made her look back round. It defiantly wasn't a clean kill. Someone had attached a meat hook from the ceiling, and speared the girl on it. They'd then taken a knife and split her down the stomach, leaving her intestines hanging down into the floor. Only it didn't add up. Raven knew from the stench that this girl had been dead for a while, but the stomach wound was new. She'd been moved here – possibly when the alarm was triggered, then cut open. So she was betting she'd been killed the same as the first.

She heard heavy footsteps coming from behind her. Cyborg. "Do I want to look?"

"No." She pulled back to look at him. "Where's Robin?"

"Coming. There was poor signal so he had to step outside to call the police. Star and BB are with him and they'll stay there to meet the police. Robin's coming back in once he's called."

She nodded slowly, covering her nose again.

"Is it bad?"

"It's like something out of a horror film." Raven winced. "Though they made some mistakes even I noticed and I don't usually look at dead bodies."

"Like what?"

"It's old; at least a week, but there's a fresh cut letting the intestines show. Someone was trying to disguise the original killing method."

"What makes you so sure?"

"If it had all been done at the same time, I'm certain the innards would look a lot more decomposed than they do."

"You seen this kinda stuff before?" Cyborg looked horrified.

"My father often gave me... interesting insights to hell."

"Damn..."

Robin rushed past them and around the corner. Raven and Cyborg waiting for him to turn and walk back, and were surprised when he didn't. They empath peeked around the corner to find him analyzing the scene with narrowed eyes.

"The police coming?" Raven asked, and she received a nod.

"They should be here in a minute." They heard him sigh. "This is different from the first body. I don't like it."

"But what does that mean?" Cyborg asked.

"They could be trying to throw us off their sent – make it look like there's more than one killer."

"But you think it's the same guy?"

"Yeah."

"Well, at least we know they're not as good as we originally thought." Raven nodded. "Though I wonder why they changed tactics. If they did use glamour with the first body, it will be much harder to trace. They're more likely to slip up doing this. I thought serial killers had a very organised way of killing."

"They do. In most cases."

"Robin! The police men are here!" Starfire shouted. "I have sent them in!"

"Thanks Star, we'll be out in a moment!"

"I'm leaving now." Raven shook her head. "I can't stand that stench any longer. The smell alone is making me feel like I need a very thorough shower."

"You can go too Cy, if you want to wait by the car."

* * *

><p>Well, just go ahead and introduce a whole new genre why don't you? Like I didn't have my hands full as it was. But the killer is part of a plot. I just got bored with the one plot romance I had going on – I myself have never been a fan of books with romance in unless there's plenty of blood, guts, death and heartbreak in-between. Yes I'm, still focusing on Jinx and Raven – they deserive the focus. Wonderful couple, just don't expect every chapter to be about them from here onwards.<p>

Anyways what did you think? I know this area of my writing needs a whole lot of improvement, so I'm hoping for critical reviews abound. ;)


	13. Mistakes

**Concolor44: **What do I think? That you're pushing hard for that M rating. This reminds me  
>of an episode of 'Criminal Minds' I saw recently. The serial killer had his "trophies" in a big freezer, on meat-hooks. Pretty icky.<br>I feel really sorry for Raven if she is terribly sensitive to cadaverine and putrescine, which seems to be the case. She's apt to run into them in her line of work. Good thing she's not a medical examiner, eh?  
>This should certainly serve to get her mind off Jinx for a while; and to occupy Robin's attention instead of letting him stew over Raven's recent loss of control.<br>Still, Robin's point remains: a serial killer usually has one M.O. If this guy is branching out, that either means that he's sloppy (which I doubt) or that he is smarter than the average bear (which would be REALLY bad). I hope it's the former, but am not holding out a lot of hope there.

_mmm... it would really suck to be Raven right now. After all, if any creature's gonna be tuned in to the scent of flesh, it's gonna be a demon. I suppose a meta-human serial killer would just add to the shit pool huh? Here's hoping the Bat's training paid off for Robin._

**Spikesagitta: **...well that was a shocker...and not in a good way kind of shock too. I'm  
>lucky I'm not squeamish...at least not to gore in books or movies. Not so sure about real life..<br>Really wonder how the killer would tie into all this...

_Ahhh you'll find out, don't worry ;)_

**Edokage: **The chance of Jinx or Raven (or both) being kidnapped is pretty much 100% at  
>this point. In any case I predict the serial killer will end up on the wrong side of a very ** off half-demon and that his fate will impact Raven and Robin's relationship negatively. Jinx, however, will probably be quite grateful to the dark titan for not meeting her (likely slow and painful) end should she be chosen as a victim.<p>

_Oh come on – give me some credit here. Besides what the beginning (with the typical jinx-grabs-Raven's-attention) may say about me, I am quite a creative person! Kidnapping is so over-rated xD_

**TaintedFlare: **You just reminded me of an episode in NCIS...the serial killer murdered people in various odd ways, only thing they all had in common was a missing foot...the agents then found this truck with a freezer inside along with meat hooks lining the walls, every foot was hanged there after hours freezing and every one had a number tattooed on the heel...really creepy...

_urgh, please. Feet are bad enough when attached to the body. Ick! That is one episode of NCIS I'm glad I missed. _

* * *

><p>"Cyborg, can you bring up the footage from all the security cameras in that area from around the time the alarm was triggered."<p>

"So what did you find?" Beast Boy asked, watching Cyborg work his way through different files on the big screen. "Was it the same as the one the police found?"

"No. This one was very different." Robin frowned. "Though I'm pretty sure it's the same killer. It was a petite woman again, it's just she was cut open down the middle." He squeezed the bridge of his nose. "He's either really out of it or too competent."

"That doesn't fit either." Raven muttered. "If he was changing the look of his kills in order to stay hidden, wouldn't he alter his method of killing?"

"What?" Robin frowned at her.

"I'm pretty sure the medical examiners would pick this up but that body was old, and due to the nature of the tissues making up the intestines... they would have shown a lot more signs of decay if they'd been like that since the murder. Not to mention if the body was moved when the alarm was triggered, it would have been awfully hard to transport.

"Often during the battles that took place in Tamerain, warriors would take the bodies of the enemy and display them on the battle field, usually held on a spear or pole. It was a way to intimidate the opposition." Starfire spoke. "I believe it has been a common practice of earth in the past also."

"Then why didn't he do that to the first one?" Robin asked, though it had been more to himself than to the others.

"Maybe the police found the body before they were meant to." Cyborg shrugged.

"This is starting to sound awfully far-fetched for a serial killer." Beast Boy frowned.

"We don't know for certain it is a serial killer. We just know there was a trend in the people who had gone missing. It could be coincidence."

"Or intentional. Maybe he's trying to get a message out to someone?" Raven mused. "Obviously photos of the bodies wouldn't be admitted to the general public so either it's for someone who would see them, or he's waiting for that someone to stumble across one."

"Again, that's a little farfetched." Robin frowned.

"It happened to me." Raven shrugged.

"What?" Beast Boy yelped.

"Someone who had heard about me from outside of Azarath found a way into the city and killed civilians. That was as much as I had heard from the monks. Then, while I was walking around one of the temple's gardens I followed this awful smell - the temple was well looked after, and it had defiantly been out of place - and found a body with symbols carved into his flesh. The guards eventually caught up with the man and killed him; a prophet from earth I believe, but it was... disturbing."

"Who would do such a thing?" Starfire protested.

"Quite a lot of people." Robin muttered.

"Why don't we just let the police figure this one out, then we can find the killer?" Beast Boy suggested. "You're the only one out of us who knows how this kinda stuff works, and we usually have our hands full with super villains."

"Because the police asked for our help."

"I'm with BB." Cyborg nodded. "We're just doing everything they are. And less."

"So you're just going to let him kill more people?"

"From the sounds of it, he's already got enough bodies to keep him going for a while." Raven muttered dryly. "How many people have been reported missing?"

"Twelve." He quoted without having to look at anything.

"Twelve?" Cyborg repeated, looking sick.

"So, the police found a body yesterday, we found one today. That's ten left. Se we're looking at ten more days of bodies. I'm sure the police will find something in that time. Everyone makes mistakes."

"And if they don't?"

"Keep up with the police reports. If anything is like the first one – the body void of anything to it's own DNA, we'll go and I'll check them for glamour. Though I didn't feel any on the one we found."

"Could you not ask for the help of the Batman?" Starfire asked.

"No." He answered sharply, before walking out of the room. "Raven, Cyborg; look through those tapes. I'll be in the-"

"The exact same place you always go when you decide to go all obsessive?" Beast Boy asked.

"We'll tell you if we find anything." Raven ignored the changeling.

"Good." He nodded, before walking out of the room.

"Then what are Beast Boy and myself supposed to do?" Starfire asked.

"Whatever you want." Cyborg shrugged. "I mean, you can sit and watch the tapes with us if you want but..."

"It's not like we have anything else to do." Beast Boy muttered, joining Raven on the sofa.

"You have your patrol in an hour." Cyborg reminded the green teen.

"Apart from that."

* * *

><p>Yeah, as you comic fans know – that didn't happen to Raven. But I always did wonder why she hadn't had some crazy zealot after her at some point. I mean, come on; she's a prime suspect.<p>

Anyways... slightly shorter chapter. As always, what did you think? This is a more uncomfortable area of writing for me, so critics are welcome. More than welcome.


	14. Interference

**Concolor44: **Not a WHOLE lot to say. Robin is being obsessive (what else is new?) but Cy  
>and BB are right. They really are out of their depth in this investigation schtick. That's really Robin's thing.<br>I realize the part where Raven discussed Azarath and the interloper is not canon, but I still don't really understand it. Why didn't the zealot just try to kill her, as opposed to terrorizing her?

_Hmm... perhaps I should have written that a little better; since the guards killed him, they won't really know his true intensions but they were worried about the issue of him turning on the demon-halfling. Since she would have been a young girl at the time it would have been terribly disturbing for her, and hey, the interloper probably was seriously messed up in the control panel, heh. As for why the Monks would have been worried about Raven's death (after all, she's apparently 'evil') they didn't really know what the girl's death would bring, and these the whole pacifist thing where they don't fight and sit back to let things happen as they will. Most probably they killed the man not to protect Raven but to protect more citizens of Azarath from the mad man._

_Since it isn't really adding much to the story, I didn't think about it in depth; which I now know I should have. Anyway, hope that helps. _

**Spikesagitta: **Interesting...and as usual Robin being a...jerk and a stubborn fool, if he asked for help, he might be able to save the missing woman too...

_Haha if he asked for help he wouldn't be Robin._

* * *

><p>They'd been looking through about three hours of tape, and had found nothing out of the ordinary. Beast Boy had fallen asleep in his dog form, and Starfire had moved off to the kitchen, leaving just Raven and Cyborg to analyse all the video from the security cameras, and Robin was yet to surface from the crime room.<p>

"You sure we haven't looked at this one already?" Raven frowned as they studied the gap between two warehouses.

"Yeah. I'm marking the ones we've already gone through."

"We're not going to find anything. For all we know he could have used some teleporting technology then smashed the door open to trick us." She folded her arms as she shifted into a more comfortable position.

"You bored?" Cyborg asked with slight amusement. Out of all the titans, Raven was known for her legendary patience.

"You have to ask?"

The film from the camera flickered, and Cyborg leaned forward, a frown on his face, totally serious again.

"What was that?" Raven asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe interference?" He rewound the tape, playing it again.

The flicker of black was for no more than a brief second, but it obscured the entire screen. Playing it again, Cyborg slowed the speed down, not getting anything more from it.

"Mark it for us to come back to later." Raven muttered. "None of the other cameras did that. Even if it's nothing to do with the murderer, we can tell the company their security equipment might need checking."

"Why do you think that's got anything to do with our killer – for all we know the tape just has a scratch or the wires are causin' some bad reception."

"Because we're possibly dealing with a meta-human. I know I can block cameras like that with my energy, and it would be even worse if we had someone who could hack technology; we may be missing a few screens."

Cyborg nodded at that. "Good thinking. I'll run it through one of my programs – it would tell us if we had a time jump."

They moved onto the next camera, this one above the main doors to the old warehouses, and it wasn't long until the tape flickered, this one lasting a few more seconds. Cyborg marked this one, before fast forwarding through the remainder of the video. "I think it's a little too early to say, but this flicker might be laying out a map."

"I'll go fetch Robin – he'll know if it's anything. Keep going through the rest of the tapes." Raven nodded as she stood up, her legs stiff from having sat still for so long.

Cyborg nudged the green teen, who looked at his friend through disgruntled eyes before morphing back into his human form. "Dude what? Did you find something?"

"Maybe. Can you order a pizza; I'm too busy to cook, Robin isn't gonna leave his room and I'm not eating none of your tofu stuff."

"On it."

* * *

><p>As always, reviews and critiques are welcome! Took a little longer updating this time - sorry about that, but I just had mys second to last exam today, and my time was taken up with revision. xD<p> 


	15. Against better judgement

**Concolor44: **Heh. Love the matter-of-fact way Cy dealt with things there at the end. "You  
>do this, you do that, I'll do so-and-so. Too tired to cook. Get pizza." He's leadership material.<p>

_He truly is, when he wants to be. xD_

**Spikesagitta: **Take your time, your studies are way more important than a side hobby  
>anyway...and we can wait :)<br>I'm guessing meta-human...I mean the killer.

_Haha, maybe you can wait, but I can't!_

* * *

><p>"So I ran the tapes through a few programs. Nothing was altered on them, which means something was probably covering the lenses." Cyborg noted as he grabbed a slice of pizza. One the big screen he had the seven cameras that had all showed the same interference, and at the time which it had happened. "They left the path they used to enter the warehouse, which means they didn't just teleport inside."<p>

"That is comforting to know." Raven nodded. "But that still doesn't help us figure out who it was. Or how they blocked the cameras."

"Maybe it was a ninja." Beast Boy offered his input to the un-amusement of his team-mates. "What? Don't give me those looks. I mean, he dodged those security cameras pretty well."

"For starters, why would a Ninja be in Jump City?" Cyborg frowned.

"Maybe they were hired to kill these people?"

"Perhaps the person owns super-speed like the Kid Flash." Starfire suggested. "Then the cameras would not pick up his movements."

"That still doesn't explain how they blocked out the cameras." Robin shook his head. He looked at Cyborg. "Are you sure the files haven't been tampered with?"

"Certain."

Robin sighed, staring at the screen as though the answers would jump out at them. "Then speed is defiantly one of their talents – the screen isn't blocked long enough for a normal person to move out of view of the camera. At least that gives us something to go by. I'll check the files for the Hive Academy. I doubt anyone from there would do this but... I'd be a fool not to check."

"Perhaps, I could be of assistance?"

"Thanks Star." Robin smiled. "It's not going to be very interesting though."

"Regardless, I wish to do my bit to help."

"I _could_ check the city with my soul self, however I do not like the idea of my psychic going anywhere near a killer."

"We'll resort to that later, if we need to." Robin shrugged. "We need everyone at their full strength, and I know astral projection is draining for you."

"Then I am going to go meditate." The empath excused herself as she stood up. "I'll be on the roof if you need me."

* * *

><p>After three days of Robin's obsessive behaviour regarding the capture of this killer, the tower had become less of a peaceful sanctuary for Raven, and more of a personal storm cloud for her leader. It was giving her almost constant head-aches, and it wasn't until after she'd decided she was going to spend the day away from the tower that she remembered Jinx's offer to meet her at the park later that night. She knew it wasn't within her best interest to meet up with the villain, but the girl's care-free attitude would be a nice break after the stifling atmosphere in the tower.<p>

After spending a day out in the mall with Starfire, she changed out of her cape and into some dark blue jeans and a long sleeved black top before leaving the tower again. She flew over the water to the dock, but walked the rest of the way to the park, not wanting to attract too much attention. Not that she should – her hair looked more black and purple in the fading daylight. The cool summer night air helped ease some of the tension that had worked its way into her shoulders. She noted that it was five past ten by the time she reached the park, but could see the silhouette of a girl standing under the tree they'd met under last time.

"And here I was thinking you wouldn't come along." Jinx smiled at the titan.

"Actually I'd forgotten about it until a few hours ago." The empath shrugged. "I needed the fresh air."

"Well, I dunno what we're gonna do. Most places are shut and stuff."

"I'm content to just walking. Shall we stick to the park?" She asked as she motioned that they start walking.

"Sure. I mean, I doubt there are going to be that many people this late." Jinx nodded, before frowning at Raven. "So, how come you're suddenly miss conversation?"

"The atmosphere in the tower's been killing me. I guess I'm just feeling more... relaxed than I have in a while. Actually... you don't happen to know anything about the recent murders, do you?"

"Those two girls? I saw it on the news. Actually, Jump's underground has some rumours circlin' and stuff about it. Why? I didn't think you guys dealt with stuff like that."

"We don't." She sighed. "But the police expect it's the work of a meta-human so they've asked for our help. Needless to say Robin's the only one qualified to actually be of any use. Mind telling me the rumours?"

"The guy's meant to be pretty powerful. Basically the word is to keep outa his way. And he isn't a local. But I don't think anyone's actually seen the guy." She glanced sideways at the empath. "Just don't tell anyone I've been giving a titan info."

"My lips are sealed." She grimaced. "That's all you know?"

"Yep. I have more reason to keep out of the way than most. Isn't he supposed to be targetin' petite people or somethin'?"

"Jinx, you're taller than me." Raven commented, amused.

"Only by a little bit. I mean, compared to Starfire, I'm small."

"Everyone's small compared to her. She's taller than most of the guys." She shook her head. "And if you're small, that means I'm small; which I'm not. It's bad enough Robin calling me small."

"A lady doth protest too much." Jinx wagged her finger at the girl.

"Do that again, and you'll be missing a few fingers." Raven growled.

The meta-human laughed, "A superhero threatening to cut off my fingers? What's wrong with that picture?"

"I can say you attacked me, and it was an accident during self defence if anyone questions it."

"I thought you said you didn't plot."

"I don't."

"Sure sounds like it." She remarked sarcastically. "So, ready to explain to me what I 'won't understand'?"

"Will you ever drop that?"

"Nope. You piped my interest. I'm not gonna stop asking until you answer."

"I knew it was a bad idea to come here." Raven muttered.

"And yet you still came. Why?" Jinx asked.

"I told you – I needed the fresh air."

"You didn't have to meet up with me to do that."

"I..." Why had she met up with the villain again against her better judgement? It was true she found the girl refreshing if not irritating, but if she wanted to talk to someone irritating, surly she'd just find Beast Boy. The changeling was always up for getting a rise out of the demon halfling. "I don't know why."

"You know you enjoy my company really."

"You are joking right? You purposely ask things you know will irritate me, then you say I _enjoy_ your company? What planet are you living on?"

"Earth, last time I checked."

Raven shook her head, "I was right – you're just as irritating as Beast Boy."

"Naw, my jokes are way better than his."

"Not that that's much of an achievement." Raven replied dryly. "Everyone's jokes are better than his."

"So, where'd you live before you became a titan?"

"Nowhere you would know."

"Try me."

"Jinx, how many times do I have to tell you before you get it into your thick skull that I am not going to answer any of your questions regarding personal topics?"

"Rae, you sweet talker. Seriously though, why won't you tell me? If I've never heard of the place it's not exactly going to gain me anything, is it?"

"Not knowing hasn't killed you yet, so I'm sure you can continue living without that information."

Jinx suddenly staggered, dropping to her knees as she dramatically clutched her chest. "Lack of information... killing me."

The empath shook her head as she continued walking, leaving the meta-human where she was. "You know, that isn't proving to me that you're any better than Beast Boy."

The girl got back to her feet and dusted her tights down before jogging up to Raven. "Maybe not, but could you really deny someone of their thirst for knowledge?"

"Fine! Azarath. I come from Azarath. Will you shut up now, please?"

"Azarath?" The girl scrunched up her face. "Where in hell is that?"

"It is not in _hell._" Raven bristled. "It's in between dimensions."

"You mean to say you're not human; you're some kinda alien like Starfire?"

"The occupants of Azarath are human – they travelled there from earth a few hundred years ago."

"You're right. I didn't need to know that." Jinx suddenly decided, making Raven groan. "But it is kinda interesting. I mean, if you were born on this place in another dimension, why did you come to earth?"

"I had my reasons. None of which I'm sharing with you."

"Aww! Fine, next question; is this Azarath place just like, a copy of earth?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"What, you're not going to give me anything other than 'no'?"

"No."

Jinx sighed. "So when did you come to earth?"

"Pretty much the first day I met the titans – a few months before you took over the tower."

"So, does the fact that you came from this place have anything to do with your blunt, withdrawn personality?"

"Probably." She shrugged. "The culture there is very different from the one found in America."

"Do you miss it?"

"Not really."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." Raven frowned. "I like Jump City – its home. What's it to you?"

"Nothing, I'm just interested. My parents lived in India, you know? We moved to America when I was little, so I never really noticed the difference, but they often used to joke about the culture shock." (A/N: In the comics, Jinx is from India) "So, why would Jump be home to you, and not that place? I mean, surely you got a family over there?"

"There's my mother." Raven nodded after a pause.

"Don't you miss her?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"What is this? I thought we did fifty questions at the restaurant the other night."

"We did." Jinx grinned. "But you weren't answering many of them, so I gotta ask again."

"You don't see me investigating your life."

"Yeah well, that's you. I mean, you can ask if you want – I'd probably answer most of your questions."

"And that's exactly why I'm not asking." Raven muttered. "I'm not giving you the chance to start an information trade."

"Okay then; what colour is Robin's eyes?"

Raven snorted. "You know I'm definitely not going to answer that."

"I recon they're blue. Kitten thinks they're green."

"Hah! Imagine if they were brown – that would be such a disappointment for so many people. Hang on a minute; you hang out with _Kitten_. Somehow I don't imagine the two of you being friends."

"Meh. She is sort of irritating sometimes, but she's not that bad in small doses."

"Forgive me for not believing you."

"You're a superhero. You're not meant to like her."

* * *

><p>"I should probably get back to the tower." Raven muttered as she read the time on her communicator. 01:08. "I have combat practice in the morning, and Robin won't be happy if I sleep through it."<p>

Raven couldn't believe she'd managed to stay and have three hours of almost uninterrupted conversation with the villain – she barely managed that with her own team mates. It wasn't a good sign.

"Yeah, the boys are probably wondering where I've got to."

"Somehow I find that hard to imagine."

"They're a little dumb." Jinx nodded. "But we're pretty close. I guess in our line of work you gotta trust your partners in crime."

Raven stood up off the bench they'd been sat on for the past hour, and Jinx was quick to copy her. "Your communicator receive texts?"

"I'm not sure." She studied it in the almost total darkness. "I'd have to ask Cyborg."

"Well, I'll call you at some point anyway. We should do this again." Jinx smiled.

"I guess." Raven muttered.

"Nuh uh. Don't go all heroes-and villains on me. You enjoyed these past few hours; admit it."

"I don't have to admit anything to you." She replied as she fought to hide a smile. In truth she had enjoyed herself. When Jinx wasn't trying to find out everything about Raven's personal life, she could hold up quite a good conversation.

"Hmm. Whatever you say." Jinx shrugged, the empath noticing a mischievous glint in the girl's eyes.

She stood there watching the empath for a few seconds, before quickly leaning forward and capturing the girl's lips in a kiss. Raven stiffened, and Jinx pulled back with a slight frown. "Oh come on. I know you can kiss better than that."

"Jinx; we shouldn't. I mean I'm-"

"A titan; yeah, I kinda gathered that the first time we fought you guys. But it's not like this is hurting anyone."

"It would if my friends found out." Raven's heart was racing. "It would probably class as breaking their trust and-"

"Can't you just do something for yourself for once?" Jinx muttered, kissing Raven again, not giving her a choice in the matter.

She hesitated before closing her eyes and letting herself concentrate on the feel of Jinx's lips moving against hers. She heard something shatter, and it pulled her back to reality, her cheeks turning pink. "I think I've destroyed enough of this park over the past few days." She muttered, missing the comfort of her hood.

The mistress of bad luck was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "I think the park forgives you Rae. If you need a break from the tower, give me a call and we can meet up." Quickly giving the empath one last kiss – to quick to give the girl time to respond, she turned round with a wave and started walking up the path in the opposite direction from where Raven would be heading. Raven watched the girl walk for a bit, still feeling the warmth of the blush, before she teleported to her room. She really had to get some of her emotions under control...

* * *

><p>Haha. I have been waiting to write that for a while.<p>

Today's week has not been good to me; first I get a headache/migraine the night before my exam that stopped me from getting any sleep, then sometime during that my body desided to have an asthma attack. Then, the day after that I wake up ill with the flue, which today turned into a chest infection. Whatever god is out there must really hate me.

The good news is, I only have one exam left! Yay! And that's not for another two weeks yet so I should have more time for writing if I don't die first.

Anyway, please review/comment/whatever. It'd be nice to hear from you!


	16. Past Grudges

**Spikesagitta: **Don't die dude! Not when it's just getting interesting :P And I lied, I can't  
>wait for it. I was just being polite :P<br>Raven get her emotion under control? Hmm...which one? Lust? Love? Happiness? Or maybe Embarrassment? :P

_Or perhaps timid? Brave, to stop her from doing something she might regret? Rage, for letting a lowly human kiss __**her**__. I think quite a few emotions must be playing up xD_

**Concolor44: **Okay, first of all? Get better! Don't die! Take care of yourself! Stress is a killer, and exam week is just oozing stress.  
>Second? Loved the chapter! Best one yet! The action and dialog flowed well, and the chemistry between the girls is becoming more obvious.<br>Third? Jinx's rumor was very unsettling. An out-of-towner that the local crook populace has been warned away from? Damn. Not good at all.  
>I am terribly, terribly pleased with the frequency of your updates. Carry on.<p>

_Yeah, I've started to notice I always come over ill during exams 0_o' Glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Here's hoping I can keep up the quality. _

**InkShinigami:**This story's great xD You've managed to portray both their personalities so well in the situation of a relationship starting, especially with Ravens reluctance because of her loyalty to the other titans and Jinx's open flirting ='] Even though everyone knows Raven's enjoying it as much as she is really. Looking forward to the next chapter ^^

_Haha thank you. And after all, Rae has an appearance to keep lol._

* * *

><p>"You were out late last night." Robin commented as Raven walked into the common room for her morning cup of tea.<p>

Everyone turned to look at the empath, and she fought against the guilty feeling that threatened to overwhelm her. The only time the whole team could be found awake at seven am when there hadn't been an alarm was on Christmas, Easter, or when Robin had scheduled a morning training session. She figured the universe had purposely planned to give her the most awkward situation ever.

"I went for a walk." She nodded, barely missing a beat as she moved towards the kettle. "Why, did you need me? You should have called me on the communicator."

"I just wanted to ask you on what you know about Kyd Wykkyd." Robin shrugged. "He uses portals doesn't he? Do you know how they work?"

"I think it's similar to my own interdimensional travel." Raven mused. "I wouldn't know for certain without asking, but of course he doesn't speak." '_But I know someone who might be able to tell me_'. "I got a little bit of information on our killer. It's not much, but apparently most of Jump's super villains are actively avoiding him. He's apparently powerful. No one's seen him though, which is sort of strange."

"Where'd you get this from?"

"An anonymous source." She replied.

"And you believe them?"

"I didn't pick up any emotions that usually accompany someone who's lying." Raven shrugged, leaning against the counter to face the team while she waited for the water to boil. "Does that information help, or..?"

"Yes. We know he's not local. That's definitely something. It means we can rule out who it isn't. However, if it's true that no-one's seen him, we could be in trouble. I'll fax the police after Combat training." Robin nodded, before giving Raven a look that should have belonged on a father or older brother. "I don't like that you keep disappearing off at night like this – especially now we have a bit more of an idea about the killer. If you were to be targeted-"

Internally, she winced. It wasn't like she was out on her own or anything. "They'd be left on the floor in a puddle of their own blood for the police to find." Raven cut him off in a tone that sent shivers of uncertainty through her teammates. When they'd told the girl her demon heritage meant nothing to them, they knew it was true – to an extent. But that didn't stop them from becoming wary or even scared when Raven's darker side peaked through.

After the banishment of her father, the only demon she'd had to worry about was her own, which meant while feeling strong emotions would still mess with her powers, she didn't have to worry about destroying to the world. So, she'd started let herself feel more. While everyone agreed this was a good step forward, and were happy for their friend, it meant her words were less guarded, and the Teen Titans became aware of just exactly how much Raven's demon was engraved into her personality.

"Robin, expect me to be spending more time out of the tower than in it – I know catching this person is important, but I will work better away from your personal storm cloud. I have a few leads I can follow up – other anonymous sources that could give us a few more answers."

"You aren't going around threatening villains, are you?" Robin frowned.

_A little too close to the truth, Boy Wonder._ "No." Her amethyst eyes slid towards their Robotic friend, who hadn't stopped from eating while he listened to the conversation. "And even if I was, you've used to me threaten a certain bald boy into helping Cyborg in the past."

"It was a last resort." He replied stiffly.

"The dark knight uses threats. But this conversation is moot point – I have not threatened anyone since... since threatening Jinx." Raven said as she turned as the kettle started whistling and poured the water into her mug, adding a tea bag, and stirring. She knew they would assume that had been something during her fight against the meta-human, not knowing she'd seen Jinx since. She still felt guilty, even if technically she hadn't lied.

"Hey – she's found out more than we have." Beast Boy muttered.

"Yeah man, give the girl a break."

"Leave it." Raven glared at the two boys, really wishing that wouldn't stand up for her like that.

Starfire suddenly gasped, and everyone jumped at the sudden noise, turning to look at the Tamerainian princess. "Friends! I have had an idea! What if we went back to the warehouse of nastiness and went to where the cameras were doing the malfunctioning, and let Beast Boy pick up the scent of the killer!"

"Star, you are a genius!" Cyborg beamed, to Starfire's happiness.

"We might have left it slightly too long for there to be a scent left but... Beast Boy?" Robin looked at the changeling.

"I really don't fancy being able to smell what's left of the victim, especially days after we found her but..." He glanced at Raven, guessing it would bother her more, and she wasn't complaining. "I guess it's worth a shot. If I can find something that's only there, or I don't recognise."

"Good. We'll go after combat practice. The police have kept the area roped off, so there shouldn't be too much contamination." Robin smiled slightly, finally happy to have something that they could focus their efforts on. Even if the guy hadn't left any DNA, he would have left a scent and Jump City's police didn't tend to use sniffer dogs outside drug-raids.

"And we're yet to have another body?" Raven asked. "Are all those women still missing?"

"Yeah." Robin sighed, "And the police don't even know where to start looking for them."

"I doubt they'd find them alive anyway." She shrugged.

"Why are you so convinced he's already killed them?" Cyborg frowned.

"Despite the conflicting evidence on the last body we saw? It's hard to keep hostages without people noticing. If he was holding ten... then unless he's keeping them drugged up, they'd be a constant threat – making noise, the possibility of escaping... Unless he's built a hideout under the city – or is using an old one of Slade's, someone would hear the noise." She looked at Robin. "Jump's a new city – a baby compared to Gotham. There is no-where already built that could be easily used as a hide-out."

"I didn't know you knew Gotham's layout." Robin told her.

"I don't – not that well. But I arrived in Gotham when I first travelled to Earth – it was the birthplace and home of my Mother before she was involved with the cult. After a week on those streets there it became evident I either had to learn fast, lay low, or draw very unwanted attention from more than those who attacked me. Gotham is practically sitting on top of old war shelters and civil war hideouts. I'm surprised it hasn't collapsed into itself."

"Heh. It is a small world." Beast Boy laughed, looking back and forth between the two. "You two briefly lived in the same city before Jump?"

"Gotham's big." Robin shrugged. "I wouldn't have noticed her if she was staying on the right side of the law."

"And I was only there for that week." Raven added. "There's a reason few empaths choose to live there."

"Please, but could we not ask the heroes of other cities about this killer? If our own villains fear him that much, it means that he must be very dangerous and not new at the act of killing, and like all dangerous things – for example, when you, Raven, told us the true identity of Scath, we all instantly understood the danger that faced us– there is a higher chance of them being widely known. Someone else has most likely fought against them before."

"That's a possibility Star." Robin nodded slowly. "Cyborg can you call all honorary titans and ask them about it? Maybe the doom patrol too – as much as I wouldn't like to involve Mento, they might know." He glanced at Beast Boy to make sure his friend wasn't offended, and was relieved to find the changeling smiling at him.

"Yeah, he likes to be involved – involved as in leading – a little too much."

"And you, Robin, should contact Batman. Or at least the Justice League." Raven cringed at the bad taste in her mouth associated with the name of the intergalactic superheroes.

"No. We can figure this out without their-"

"I'm not that keen on asking for the help of the Justice League neither." Raven shook her head, "But they do have the experience of years that we don't."

"They won't just help, Raven. Mento would try and lead us but at least this time it would be because he knew we were capable as working in as team. They would try to lead us because they see us as minors."

"And if they attempt such a thing, I shall remind them how quickly they backed away from the change of saving our dimension years ago, and how you guys rose to meet that challenge - and won."

"Raven the guys were stone." Cyborg frowned at her. "They couldn't have helped even if they were aware of the threat."

"The reason I was so reluctant to ask for your help was because I'd already been turned away for my genetics once. Remember that in Azarath everyone knew what was destined for me, and because of their pacifist teachings, only few treated me with obvious hate. I hadn't been aware of the different attitudes on earth, and went to the Justice League for help, knowing of their universal and often interdimensional success. The witch took one look at me and refused to help. She sensed Trigon's evil within me." Raven took a relaxing breath before continuing. Robin's tight emotions really were getting to her. "We're just asking for information, Robin. I'd rather it came from Batman than from the rest of the Justice League, but we can't let past grudges lead to the death of more people. We're superheroes, not children."

Robin frowned; as far as he was concerned he couldn't imagine the justice league turning away something like that, but he also trusted his friend's words. "Fine, I'll contact Batman. But only if the other Titans know nothing about the killer."

Raven nodded at that, before looking at Starfire. "Seeming as you're on a roll today, would care to share any more of your brilliant ideas?"

The Tamerainian blushed at the compliment, but shook her head. "I am sorry, but I have no more ideas regarding finding the identity of our killer. But I shall inform you if I receive another."

"Seriously!" Cyborg turned towards Beast Boy, "We're being totally outsmarted by the girls! Why can't we think of anything?"

"And what is this supposed to mean?" Starfire asked hotly.

Cyborg looked at Raven , only to find her smiling slightly at Starfire's hostility. "Yeah Cy. Care to explain?"

"Heh. That I think it's unfair that you girls are doing all the work?" He tried, sighing as Starfire smiled.

"Do not concern yourself friend Cyborg. I am of the happy that I was able to be of assistance."

Raven arched her brow, trying not to laugh at Cyborg as the robotic teen glanced at her.

* * *

><p>Okay, so after spending all day Saturday in the emergency doctors (damn slow service), coughing up what felt like my lungs I'm on the slow and painful road to recovery! YAY! Thank god writing makes me feel better, huh?<p>

Anyways, what did you think? I got some pretty good feedback from the last chapter. Hopefully this is about at the same standard... Not too sure though.

Side note about the Justice League, the 'witch' Raven mentioned was Zatanna. In the comics she went to them before she re-grouped the titans to help her. I think it was Zatanna who guess her heritage anyway( feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Not hating on her, it's just you can imagine how sour Raven would feel about that. And yes, Raven's mother did live in Gotham with her parents before she took to the streets. Her family wasn't exactly a happy one.


	17. Dead End

**Concolor44: **Yeah, poor Arella NEVER had the "nice life" that so many people seem to just fall into. Sucked to be her.  
>I'm so sorry to hear about your stint in the ER with what sounds suspiciously like pneumonia. I went through a month of bronchitis-pneumonia-bronchitis crap in April, and am STILL not able to shake this stupid (post-inflammatory bronchial-spasm) cough. I hate it. And I know you do, too. Did they put you on a strong antibiotic?<br>That little interplay at the end, with Cy backpedaling for all he's worth, was great!  
>Raven may be feeling guilty, but that doesn't seem to hurt her ability to "give the truth some scope" in the creative way she dances around the details. Hopefully the team will be able to track this murderer down before too long, because that sort of creative use of misdirection always catches up to you eventually.<p>

_Beaten by her dad, living on the streets, taken in by a cult that used her as a sexual sacrifice to Trigon... yeah, it does suck to be her. Kinda irritates me when people are then all 'but she so abandoned Raven'. I honestly think most people would struggle to deal that. She did well, especially as she still believed in Raven in the comics when she went all demonic. She was just doing what she thought was best._

_As for my stint at the ER, I'm heavily asthmatic, so it's common place for me to become seriously ill once a year, though this is twice so far now, and I think it is something to do with exam stress. I've been put on a course of steroids that are meant to increase the capacity of my lungs regarding the intake of oxygen. But yeah, that doesn't make it any less sucky. _

_I'm glad you liked the bit with Cyborg – I was wondering if it would have seemed as added nonsense that didn't really belong to the story. And yes, Rae should know after all that avoiding she did about who she really was before Trigon's take-over. Not to mention they know her more now – they'll soon pick up she's hiding something from them. _

**Spikesagitta: **No complaints from me regarding the quality of the chapter.  
>And I did read somewhere mentioning Zatanna as the one who refuse to help Raven somewhere. But I think it was another fic, so I not sure if it's canon. But since you mention it, it can't be all wrong.<p>

_Haha I'm pretty certain JLA did turn Raven away, like 99% sure, but I never read the comic itself so I've had to go of her reaction to member of Justice League and internet research._

**LilithRyoka, **_thanks for that lengthily review. Brought up some possible directions and tensions that I will definitely consider adding to the story._

* * *

><p>Beast Boy took a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself before he morphed into a bloodhound. Raven hadn't said anything, but she didn't look very happy to be there, and if Raven was anything other than stoic, even with her newer range of emotion, it meant she really was being affected by something. After shifting he took in the scent of the air around him with his newly sensitive nose.<p>

He noted and pushed aside the scents he recognised; lavender and incense on Raven with a darker undercurrent that threatened to clog his senses. He hadn't realised when they'd first met, but it had been that smell that made him nervous when around her – his instinct kicking in to the demon, he guessed. Then there was the sharp alien smell of zorkaberries and strawberry shampoo that radiated off Starfire. Robin smelt like hair gel and that pretty much masked any other scent the changeling might have gotten from him, and Cyborg smelt like cooked meat with the cold tang of metal. And he accused Beast Boy of smelling like tofu. Then he smelt the salt in the air, and the tang of fish, probably from a nearby fish trade market, fresh off the boats. Under all that was the lingering smell of rot. Some of it vegetation, but Beast Boy knew the remnant smell of the body was there too. It was thick and clogging, almost like the strange scent that seemed to wrap around the empath.

Shaking his head, he lowered his nose to the floor and breathed again. Rubber hit him – friction from the bottom of someone's shoes. Those other more familiar scents drifted back, but he forced them away. Alcohol; someone had either been drunk or was drinking. Possibly a homeless man had passed this way, but he noted the scent away for later – he wasn't taking any chances. He took a few steps forward, trying a new patch. Someone's deodorant. But that was nowhere near specific enough if he wanted to track this guy. He needed something individual, like the dark scent Raven carried, or the alien scent that only came from Starfire apart from during their brief visit to Tamerain.

He growled, becoming frustrated with himself. They were running out of ideas, and if this turned out to be a dead end...

"Beast Boy?" Robin asked, noticing the change in him. He was ignored and Beast Boy tried again, literally putting everything into noticing the smallest whiffs of smell.

Dust. Not bad, but not useful. Lemon. The changeling frowned. Now that was weird. Why would an alley beside two out of use warehouses smell like lemon of all things. He closed his eyes, and noticed the tiniest scent of stale sweat and copper blood. The killer had passed this way! He thanked their luck that it hadn't rained as he morphed back into his human form, an exited smile on his face.

"I think I got the scent. It was out of place anyway, and very faint. But I'm pretty sure the dude did pass this way."

"Good job Beast Boy." Robin nodded. "We'll go to where the next camera was covering, and you can see if that smell continues there. If we do have a pattern, we'll just need you to check places round the docks we don't think the killer has been to be sure it is our guy."

"I hate to burst the bubble, but... as soon as he got into a car or something his scent would stop." Raven muttered as soon as it occurred to her. "And we can't send Beast Boy to every street in the city to find that scent again."

"At least we have the killer's scent for future reference if nothing else, no?" Starfire shrugged. "Luck might be on our side, and Beast Boy may notice it on someone in the street or on a path during battle."

"Or maybe, since we're going on the assumption that he's moving fast, he didn't use a vehicle." Cyborg added.

"Why do I feel like he planned this? Planned our reactions? I keep thinking I'll see a figure on one of the roofs watching us or something." She shivered, pulling her clock around her.

Robin gave her a sharp look. "Are you picking up emotions?"

"What? You mean that could affect me? Not intentionally. I try and block it out – too much gives me a headache and can manipulate my own emotions."

"And even if you were blocking them, could you be effected?"

"It'd have to be pretty close range." She muttered. "And a strong emotion."

Robin instantly turned his gaze to the rooftops, and Cyborg activated various scans on his arm.

"Guys, it's nothing." She told them, alarmed. "I shouldn't have said anything." For all she knew, it could have been some alternative output of the guilt she was feeling.

"All the same..." Robin muttered, not entirely listening to her.

"Fine." She huffed. "Come on Beast Boy; the next camera's this way."

"What? Why me?" He whined as he looked between his leader and the half demon.

"Because they are too busy chasing shadows I imagined." She glanced at the two boys. "I cannot sense anyone here but us. We are fine."

"You never react on something unless you believe it Rae." Cyborg shook his head.

"All I meant was that this was well planned. Too well planned. It feels like a setup."

Robin sighed. "Not that it matters. I can't _see_ anyone."

"And my sweeps are coming clean." Cyborg reluctantly nodded. "Okay, next camera."

Beast Boy found the trail, and confirmed it was only on the route the camera 'faults' had mapped out, but as Raven had predicted, all trances of that scent was lost as soon as they reached the road. For lack of knowing what else to do, a frustrated leader called for a stop at the Pizza Parlour.

* * *

><p>Thought BB needed some attention :') Was actually worried about this whole serial killer thing, but I'm fairly happy with how I've fit it in with the rest of the story so far. I dunno, what do you think?<p> 


	18. Shadows

**I would just like to take a few sentences to thank everyone who has reviews, favourite or who are following my story. Means a lot to me! This is proving to be the most popular piece I'm writing, which I'm kinda surprised about, but hey. Thanks! ^_^**

* * *

><p><em>Thanks to <em>**Concolor44 **_for the review – yes I didn't know that about bloodhounds (the whole memory store bit anyway) I didn't know their sense of smell was that much greater though! It's good to know that things are matching up : ) And yes, Raven should believe in her instinct more..._

**Darkshadow-lord: **Interesting Story! I look forward to reading the rest!

_Thankyou! I hope it continues to appeal to you!_

**Kuro-Ookami4: **I like the story, but I don't like the small updates...

_Hmm... I'll see what I can do about that – I tend to write short chapters because it means I can update quicker... I'm a fast reader, so I tend to look at the update frequency more than the length of the chapters in others fanfics (actually I usually wait until the story's complete before I read it xD) but yes, some of them are a bit short..._

**Spikesagitta: **BB deserve some love too, or well scene time :P  
>And maybe the killer is observing them just as Raven said...<p>

_BB does, I mean he's a good character and quite funny to write. And maybe... I'll guess they'll never truly know... ^_^_

* * *

><p>"...And then I was like 'guys!'" Jinx threw her hands into the air melodramatically before picking up her fork again and adding in a matter-of-fact was, "But what can you do? Boy's are gross."<p>

"Agreed." Raven muttered, taking a small bite of her waffles. "You wouldn't believe half the things Cyborg and Beast Boy do."

"This is a pretty nice place." Jinx commented as she stabbed at her own plate of waffles with her fork. "Food's nice."

"It's one of Cyborg's favourite stops." The emapth replied. "And it's open late. Not that time of day is exactly an issue anymore." She muttered as an afterthought.

The diner wasn't full, but it was busy. After all, it was six in the evening. So Raven had used a little magic to turn her purple hair black to avoid being noticed. So far it had worked.

"What, don't you have a favourite place?"

"I... no." She answered and Jinx could see her mentally pulling away. It was fascinating to watch, but slightly upsetting and irritating for the girl. "That would be pointless."

"Why would it be pointless?" The meta-human frowned.

"It doesn't matter." She shook her head.

"I know, I wouldn't understand." Jinx rolled her eyes. "God! What do I have to do to make you stop saying that?" Raven didn't answer, frowning at her plate as she realised she'd lost her appetite. "So, let's say you _don't_ have a favourite place." Jinx continued. "Not that I believe you. Do you have a part of Jump you really hate?"

"Yes."

"Show me."

"What?"

"Show me." Jinx repeated, putting some cash down for the bill, happy when Raven seemed to be too distracted to protest. "You don't have to explain it to me, I just want to see it." She stood and took hold of Raven's hand, pulling the girl to her feet. She decided not to let go, even after she'd dragged Raven out of the diner.

* * *

><p>"This is your least favourite place in Jump? A block of rundown buildings?" She asked sceptically as she took in the view from the roof. "Why?"<p>

"I thought you said I didn't have to explain it to you." She replied smugly.

"Yeah, well... I was expecting something that would be, ya know, obvious for you to dislike. Like maybe the Disney store."

"I don't hate Disney." Raven smiled slightly, before giving the girl a threatening look. "Of course you understand I have appearances to keep up."

"Hey, your secret is safe with me. But why this place?"

The hint of amusement faded from the girl's light grey skin, and was replaced with a faraway look as Amethyst eyes studied the ruined buildings, coming to rest on what was left the city's original library. It wasn't hard for Jinx to tell she was slipping back into past memories. "Something... bad happened here. And I couldn't stop it."

A feeling washed through Jinx that she didn't understand, and made her grab for the girl's hand. A small voice tried to remind her that she was doing this for the team; to bring down the titans, but that voice seemed insignificant. Raven turned to look at Jinx, her surprise easy to read, and the girl offered a comforting smile.

"You can't save everyone Rae. I'm sure that whatever it was, you tried your best to stop it."

"You don't understand." The empath replied, like all the other times, but this time her voice wasn't monotone. It was breaking, and Jinx got the feeling she'd just dived straight into the deep end before she'd learnt to swim. The petty thief in her was screaming at her to leave it. To drop the scam, to forget about the girl, and do the easy thing. But when Raven tried to take her hand back, Jinx just tightened her grip.

"Raven, I don't need to understand it. You're one of the good guys – one of the really good guys. Whatever you're blaming yourself for, it was not your fault."

"Stop saying that!" Raven shouted, pulling harder on her hand.

"Stop saying what? That it isn't your fault?"

"Yes, that!"

"Why?" Jinx challenged, her eyes becoming fiercer, and less gentle.

"Because it _is_ my fault. This isn't some slip up, like I couldn't reach a civilian in time or something. It _was_ me." Raven was still trying to regain possession of her hand, but she was no longer looking at Jinx, and the girl knew she was crying.

"Raven, what-"

The empath's body suddenly stiffened, and her eyes shot to the streets below them. It alarmed Jinx as she recognised it as Raven's 'job' mode. Alarmed her how quickly she seemed to fall into it, despite her obvious distress. "Shush."

It was still fairly light, but dark enough that most of the alleys and streets were cast in thick shadows, and Jinx stared at them, straining to see what had grabbed the girl's attention like that. "If this is some stupid attempt to distract me then-"

"Jinx, for once in your life, will you just shut up." Raven hissed, yanking her hand out of hers, her brow set into a heavy frown.

Jinx watched Raven's hair fade from black back to its usual purple, watched her study the streets again, "Someone's down there. No one should be down there."

"It's not like it's blocked off or anything. Chill; it's probably some homeless guy."

"No. I set up wards around the block, aimed to make people feel uncomfortable and stay away. No one should be down there." She pulled her communicator out of her pocket before glancing at the pink haired girl. "Get away from here – now."

"What? Why?"

"I'm calling for back up. I think it's our serial killer."

"Oh no!" Jinx put her hand over Raven's communicator as she started to open it. "You are not going down there after him."

"I have to."

"Raven he is bad news. Like seriously bad news. Even the villains are staying away from him."

"It's my job." She bristled; forcing Jinx's hand away and flipping open her communicator. "Raven calling Robin."

Jinx started fidgeting, wanting to talk some sense into the girl, but knowing that talking while she was online to her team leader would not be the wisest thing to do.

"Robin here. What's wrong? And why are your co-ordinates near the old library?"

_What is so god damn important about this place to everyone?_ Jinx fumed, forcing herself to stay still.

"I think I've found our killer. He hasn't seen me, as far as I know, but he's in my view at the moment. He's moving though."

"We're on our way. Don't engage him. Just keep him in sight."

"Will do." She slipped her communicator back into her pocket, before levitating off the top of the roof. "I trust you don't need my help to get back to ground level."

"Raven, don't! Don't you dare go after him!"

"Go home Jinx."

She grabbed her arm, trying to hold her still. "He will kill you!"

Jinx was suddenly flying across the roof, having been pushed back by a strong blast of dark energy. "I don't have time for this. The other titans will be here soon, and you'd better be gone by the time they arrive."

Leaving before Jinx had time to reply, she was careful to stay close to the roofs of the buildings. She wasn't close enough to catch what the man looked like – he always seemed to be cast in shadows, but she could sense something evil about the him, and she had to force back a gasp when she realised it was the same feeling as the one she'd felt at the crime scene, when Beast Boy had been trying to find the killer's scent. He _had_ been watching.

Raven's heart stuttered when the man slipped into an old building; what looked like a bakers shop, and hesitated before she landed on the ground and followed him in. She couldn't risk losing him, not now, and Robin would be able to find her on the GPS he had installed into everyone's communicators. They would be there in no time. That didn't stop Jinx's warnings from running around her head.

It was almost pitch black inside the building, and Raven realised she'd been wrong about the bakers bit. Whatever had been kept here, it had been stored and displayed on a maze of ceiling high shelves. She considered going back outside and watching from the air, but she told herself she was already inside; there wasn't much point going back outside. She walked forward slowly, careful not to make any noise. She tried to listen for tell tale signs that the stranger was here; fabric moving, even breathing, but it was eerily silent.

Wood crashed to the laminate floor, the noise echoing in the silence and making the empath jump, thinking she'd walking into a mop or something, but saw nothing on the ground around her. Something else fell, and she turned to face the noise, not that she could see through the shelves, fighting the feeling that told her she was trapped. That she'd been lured here on purpose. She searched for all the exits with her energy and closed them, locking the man in the room. And locking her in with him.

Someone laughed, and she didn't waste any time teleporting towards the sound. She appeared in the air behind the dark figure, and fell towards him, foot aiming for a collision with his head. She connected, but met no resistance and continued through him, crashing painfully into the floor. Dazed with pain and confusion she didn't react as the figure moved to stand in front of her. He grabbed her hair, pulling her off the ground. Raven could feel his smile, but couldn't see it. He was still covered in darkness. She kicked out, but again her foot didn't connect with anything. She would have shaken her head in disbelief if he hadn't been holding her hair. He was touching her – she had to be able to hurt him!

She aimed a right hook at his face and this time saw her hand pass through the opaque black mass, while he continued to stand their laughing. A fist connected with her stomach and she tried to stop herself from yelping out in pain, struggling to draw in a breath. A nearby shelf ripped up from the floor, coated in obsidian light, and rammed into the man. Or should. Instead in continued into the shelves next to him, splintering upon the impact, some of the slivers of wood embedding into Raven's face and neck.

"It's not going to work." The figure commented smugly. "You can't touch me." The hand that wasn't holding Raven's hair gripped her chin as if to prove his next point, "Even if I can touch you."

Fighting the panic, she tried something that had always worked before. She closed her eyes and fought to find her centre. Her soul self shot from her body, and dove towards the man, passing into him. She tried to find his centre; the focus point of his emotions, but there was too much chaos. There was nothing but death and bloodlust. It weakened Raven's control of her demon, weakened her control of her emotions. She would have screamed if she had a mouth. She couldn't figure out how to get back to her body, and was awfully aware it was dangling defencelessly in his grip.

One thing was painfully clear to her. He wasn't human. He wasn't even a meta-human. He was something _much_ worse. She was aware of other people suddenly arriving; the titans, and the edge of the panic that had been consuming her vanished. She knew they were attacking him and failing when she felt the creature's flicker of amusement. She didn't have time to worry about her friends. She used that amusement as a focus point, and pushed out of him, jerking painfully back into her own body.

She turned wide eyes towards her attacker, realising he'd thrown her at some point during the possession and even though she knew now that he didn't have any features, she could feel him watching her. Feel his smile. Beast Boy ran through him to barrel into Cyborg on the other side, and still he was watching. Mockingly, he casually strolled towards her, completely ignoring everything else. Raven could see Robin yelling something at her, but she had gone deaf, possibly in shock. The creature reached her and continued past her, his mass passing millimetres from the empath's skin, before he disappeared through the back door.

Robin looked like he was about to follow him, so she shoved herself to her feet, having to grab onto the shelves when her legs threatened to buckle. "No." She sounded traumatised, even to herself, and she hated it. She took in a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down, and her voice was steadier when she spoke again. "Don't. You can't touch him. But he can hurt you."

Beast Boy and Cyborg rushed forward to support her. "What happened? When we came in through the door, you here just dangling limp in his hold." Cyborg told her.

"We thought-" Beast Boy took in a deep breath, and Raven hated how shaken he sounded. "You were so _still_."

"I'm fine." She shook her head. "Just... can we just return to the tower?"

* * *

><p>"Stop pacing!" Gizmo yelled, "You're distracting me!"<p>

"Shut up!"

"What the hell is wrong with you anyway? You disappear all day and come back acting like the Justice League are on their way here." The small boy frowned; turning his attention away from the computer he was in the process of upgrading. His face suddenly fell. "Oh no; you didn't! Those snotmunchers are on to us, aren't they?"

"No. Raven hasn't told them anything." She snapped.

"Jinx and Raven sittin in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-"

"Shut up you idiot!"

"Then go somewhere else. You keep catching your foot on my power chords. You're gonna ruin all my hours of work." He pointed to the screen of the computer. "And since you're too busy dating to care about our job anymore, someone has to-"

"I am doing this for the team. I almost have her figured out. Give me two weeks, and she'll be on our side." Jinx cut him short, this time knowing it was definitely a lie. There was no way Raven would ever think about joining the Hive Five, dating or not. And Jinx didn't care. The meta-human left the room in a huff, marching down to her room. "Please be okay." She whispered, gripping the phone in her pocket.

"What's got her knickers in a twist?" Gizmo growled.

"Must be that time of the month." Mammoth grunted absently as he worked on his fort of sofa cushions.

Gizmo frowned, then blanched as he realised what his friend was talking about. "Urghk!"

* * *

><p>"Raven!" Robin yelled as he knocked her door. "You need to tell me what happened! I told you <em>not<em> to engage him!"

"I'm trying to meditate." She hissed back, her long time excuse slipping easily off her tongue.

"You can meditate after you've told me what happened."

Raven didn't reply, only pulling deeper back into the hood of her cape, which she had put on over her civi clothes as soon as she had reached her room. Her communicator, which was sat on top of the bed sheets in front her of bleeped, letting her know someone was trying to reach her. Somehow she knew it was Jinx.

"Why won't people just leave me alone?" She yelled without meaning to, and the light in her room shattered. Not that she ever used it anyway.

"Raven, open this door before I tell Cyborg to open it for me." Robin threatened. "We almost had him Raven, and you told us to let him go. I need to know why."

She felt like she had run a marathon – she was out of breath. She waved her hand at the door and opened it with her powers. Robin didn't step through, but watched her expectedly from the doorway. "I tried to possess him and... he isn't human Robin. He isn't a demon but he's something really, really bad. For a moment, I thought I was trapped _in_ him." She was staring at her bed. She hated sharing her feelings with anyone. Especially when she considered those feeling to be a weakness. "He'd seen me there. He'd set it up so I would follow him. And I think he was there, at the crime scene." She closed her eyes, fighting against the wave of nausea that washed over her.

"At least we know what we're up against, and we don't have to bother other teams."

"You think we can fight this alone?" Raven gasped, eyes shooting up to look at him. "He'll _destroy_ us."

"No. He won't. We took down Trigon. We defeated the brotherhood of evil. We can beat this too. Look through your books; see if you can find anything that tells us exactly what he is. Cyborg's already looking through the internet. But what were you doing down in that part of Jump. I thought you promised us you'd never go there again unless you were with one of us." Robin said, finally walking into the room, stopping a few feet short of her bed. "We know how much seeing that place affects you."

"I..." She felt like she was going to choke. "I was going through old patrol routes, seeing if I could find anything."

"You're lying." He said softly, being careful not to sound to accusing. "Raven, you can trust me. You know that right?"

Acting with blind panic and guilt, she snatched her communicator off the bed sheets and teleported onto the roof. She'd blown it. Robin was going to figure it out; she'd be kicked off the team. She sat on the edge of the roof, trying to calm herself down, trying to meditate. Her communicator buzzed at her again. This time she didn't know if it was Jinx or the Boy Wonder, and she didn't care as she chose to ignore it again.

She sighed in relief when it stopped buzzing at for five minutes, before it started again. Tempted to throw it over the edge and into the sea below, she angrily flipped it open but didn't say anything.

"Raven! Thank god you're okay! Are you back at the tower?"

"What do you want Jinx?" She asked bluntly.

"Meet me in the park in five minutes. Please."

She thought about hanging up. She thought about calling the whole thing off and telling Jinx to stay the fuck away from her, to never come within sight of her again. But a smaller part was worried about Robin, and if she would be kicked off the team. She was worried she would suddenly find herself totally alone. "I can't be out long."

She heard Jinx let out a breath she'd obviously been holding. "That's okay. See you in a bit."

Raven didn't bother saying bye as she shut the communicator. She glanced out over the city, drinking in the lights that shone brighter than the stars above her, and turned to look back at the door leading into the tower. She could feel all of them in the common room. Feel them gathered around Cyborg at the computer, probably looking for explanation about the killer. She unclasped her cloak and let it drop to the roof, before taking flight towards the city. She knew Robin had no idea that she'd been with Jinx, but she couldn't help feeling like this time she was leaving the tower for good.

* * *

><p>Bet you can guess why the old library was so significant to her, and her least favourite place xD<p>

Wow. So there's a lot happening in this chapter. And I've touched a few areas I haven't before. That means I'm expecting plenty of critical reviews telling me how awful some of it was. I know you're lying if you don't. I was kinda writing like a girl possessed, so there will be mistakes.

Had a few 'dark days' and I guess some of it leaked into this. Hmm... Here's hoping it didn't ruin it for you. Hope the serial killer thing is still interesting. I know a few were wondering about how he would add to the story, and I hope so far it hasn't been a disappointment.


	19. Still a good person

**Concolor44:** Well THAT tore by at a breakneck pace! Wow. The Truly Bad Guy in question is  
>even more creepy than I'd previously imagined. Sounds like his abilitypower/specialness is similar to Kitty Pryde's phasing ability, only more so. If he can attack, but not be attacked ... if possessing him doesn't work at all ... if he is merely AMUSED by the Titans' attacks ... we are, as  
>the saying goes, in some really deep weeds. I'm intensely curious now to know just what he is. I hope you'll let us know when the time is right.<br>You seem to be getting better about your writing, from several perspectives. That is good to see. Makes the story that much more fun to read. Thanks! And thanks again for sharing.

_Not too fast, I hope! Yes, this bad guy turned out... darker than I was expecting too! But I kinda like him. I'm glad my writing's improved, and that it's noticeable! I keep re-reading through earlier chapters and thinking 'hell I need to re-write this!' xD_

**Spikesagitta: **There goes my theory that he was a demon...what with the shadow power and all.  
>He's not human, not a demon...so what is he?<p>

_You'll just have to wait and find out ;) But here's a clue. I'm cross-referencing several mythological beings. _

* * *

><p>"You're hurt!" Jinx moved towards the empath as she passed under one of the lights in the park.<p>

"I've been hurt worse by you." She brushed Jinx off. "It was nothing more than a few splinters. Cyborg removed the wood, and by tomorrow there won't even be a scratch."

"Why didn't you answer your communicator? You had me worried sick!"

"Maybe because I had Robin at my throat. Maybe because living in a house full of superheroes means I can't just casually have a conversation with you in the hallways."

Jinx decided to ignore the superhero/villain issues the empath loved to bring up, and focused on the first half of her statement. "Why was bird-brain chewing you out?"

Raven sighed, and moved over to sit at the base of a nearby tree. She'd be carefully keeping her face and voice emotionless, but Jinx caught the undercurrents of fear running through the girl. She'd been working on reading Raven over the past month or so, and it was paying off. "The killer went into a building. I had to follow him. But he seemed more upset about the fact that I'd been near that old block." She glanced at Jinx, who had chosen to sit beside her. "Robin's not stupid."

"He guessed? But he wouldn't have known it was me, even if he knew you were up to something, right?"

"He's pulling cards I can't continue to fight against Jinx."

"So you're calling it off?" She muttered, casting a glare at the grass.

"I can't believe you! I'm lying to my team-mates, I found out our attacker was anything but _human_, almost becoming stuck when I tried to possess him and was inches away from succumbing to my demon, and all you care about it a fucking date?"

Jinx frowned, looked up at Raven. "Demon? That's what the titans are calling it?"

The empath froze, like a rabbit caught headlights. Her lips started to move; to say something, but the words wouldn't form. She pushed herself to her feet and walked quickly away from Jinx.

"Raven, wait." The girl didn't reply, only speeding into a run when she heard Jinx coming after her. "For god sake!" A wave of pink energy passed her and cracked the pavement slabs in front of Raven, tripping the girl up.

When she reached Raven she took hold of her arms, keeping them to her sides as she tried to stop Raven from running off again. "Stop running!"

"Jinx, let me go."

"No, not until you calm down and explain."

"Jinx, please."

"Just because you have some anger issues doesn't mean they have the right to call it _demonic_. I can't believe you even let them-"

"Shut up!" She screamed, frightening the meta-human. "Just let me go. You don't want to hear this."

"No. You're the one who doesn't want me to hear this. That old block of buildings; doctor light... Raven _tell_ me what I don't understand."

She'd gone deadly still again, and she was watching her feet, but Jinx didn't loosen up her grip. She knew it wouldn't make a difference – Raven could still blast her away with her magic, or teleport, but Jinx didn't care.

"I'm a demon, okay." She glanced up to look at Jinx's shocked expression, and regretted it. "I'm the daughter of one of the most powerful demons out there, and I brought the end to everything we're seeing right now."

"Well... you're still a good person." Jinx spoke after a few seconds of tense silence. "I mean, you obviously fought back against it. We're alive, aren't we? Wait – I don't remember the world ending."

"Everyone was stone." Raven answered quickly, not noticing how out of place the question sounded.

"Well, all things considered, it _would_ be easier if you wanted to join the Hive Five." She said with a smile, "I mean, having a demon on our team, we'd be pretty bad-ass."

"I don't believe you!" Raven looked up at the girl, this time keeping eye contact. "I technically killed you, and I could again – easily. And you're making _jokes_?"

"Hey – if your demon or whatever, it's 'cause you were born like that. You've been living with it for like, all your life so far. Just because you _told_ someone doesn't mean your gonna burst into some four-armed freak and randomly rip me to shreds." She mused, still working through the logic herself. "I mean, minus the skin and hair – not that I can complain – you look human. Do you have a demon form? Are you like a shape shifter or somethin'? Gizmo told me the titans used you to threaten him into help Cy, and said you did some creepy ass thing with your appearance, but I didn't believe him. He was probably just trying to cover his butt for being weak."

"I do." She muttered.

"What? Have a demon form? Can I see it?"

"No. If you ever get a chance to see my fully demonic form it'll because you're all seconds before being murdered."

She let of Raven's arms, happy she wasn't going to run for it. "'Fully demonic'? Does that mean I can see the mildly demonic form?"

"Jinx, this isn't something I openly mess around with. I have to meditate daily to keep it under control; I'm not going to then purposely undo all that work for _your _amusement." She glared, "But... thank you. For not freaking."

"That's not my style." She grinned. She grabbed Raven's hand and started walking, "So, if this killer guy isn't human, what is he?"

"I don't know." She sighed as she let Jinx pull her around the park. "I _should_ be back at the tower researching. This is meant to be my field of expertise."

"Then Robin should learn not to yell at you."

"He had every right. I'm involved with a villain, I engaged our murdered against his specific orders, I went back to the library without one of them, which I promised not to do."

"Library?" She frowned. "You mean one of those old buildings."

"Yeah. That's where I kind of... destroyed everything. And let Trigon through."

Jinx yelped, pulling Raven to a stop. "Your father is _Trigon_? The Trigon? That dude who's meant to be all evil and like, impossible to beat and stuff?"

Raven sighed. "What, did you expect me to be the daughter of some lesser servant of hell?"

"Was that a joke?" Jinx frowned at the girl suspiciously.

She just shook her head and started walking, this time doing the dragging.

"Are you _sure_ you won't show me even a little bit of this demonic self you apparently have?" Jinx let go of the empath's hand to slide it around her waist.

The empath faltered slightly, but otherwise ignored the gesture. "The killer was almost made up of shadow. I mean, he _looked_solid, but I couldn't attack him, and neither could any of the titans."

"You know, you need to work on subtly changing topics." Jinx smiled, before glancing out over the flat landscape as she thought about what Raven had said. "And yet he was able to hurt you?"

"Yeah. It... Doesn't make sense. It wasn't like some ability he could turn on and off – I was dangling from his grip and I still couldn't land a punch."

"Well, to be honest, hand-to-hand combat isn't exactly a strength of yours." She muttered smugly, then protested with a yell as the Empath used the girl's hold on her waist to trip Jinx to the ground. It was one of the few throws Robin had shown her, if slightly modified.

"Like you're any better. If I remember anything of past battles, I usually came out on top."

"Just the way I like it." She replied, laughing when the girl blushed, before holding her hand out.

Raven stared at it suspiciously, "What?"

"Well, you put me down here – it's only polite you help me get back up."

She slowly grabbed her hand, and Jinx pulled on it while her foot moved to sweep Raven's legs out from underneath her. "Oomph!"

"Now we're even." She commented as though Raven wasn't kneeling over her.

"That's what you think."

"You're right – you owe me so bad."

Raven shook her head and moved so she was balancing on the balls of her feet. "I've got to go. I'm not finding out anything about our murderer here."

"Hmmm, perhaps not." She leaned forward and lightly kissed the demon halfling, surprised when Raven didn't let her pull back, snaking grey arms around her neck and shyly deepening the kiss.

"What? Did I pass some kind of test?" Jinx muttered, her lips brushing against Raven's as she spoke.

"Maybe." She started to stand up, and this time it was the meta-human that protested.

"Don't you dare. I was enjoying that."

"I have work to do." She replied, offering Jinx a hand once she was standing. "You gonna be okay getting home?"

"Don't worry – I got my eye open for any creepy shadows. And Rae, even if they do find out about us, they won't kick you out of the tower. They're your friends." She smiled. "And well, if they do, you won't have to worry about work."

"Good bye Jinx." Raven turned, ready to morph into her soul self, not amused.

"Wait! I gotta question." Raven paused and looked back over her shoulder expectantly. "If we, ya' know, keep at this... would you being a demon alter anything..?"

"_Alter_ anything?" She frowned. "Jinx you've got to be more specific than that."

"Well, you know, demons are all pain and blood, and I was wondering if I should be expecting things to get...rougher."

Raven saw the smile spread across the girls face, and her eyes narrowed. "I'm going to pretend you never asked that." She sank into one of her portals before Jinx had times to reply.

* * *

><p>Happier than my last chapter. But Raven needed cheering up after that incident with the killer. Not to mention I'm in a better mood since I finally feel like I'm getting over my illness. And my hair's pink! Who can be sad when they have pink hair? I don't even like pink. But I was bored of having violet hair. Not that you needed to know that.<p>

Anyway, I'm not sure about this chapter. I felt kinda awkward writing it at points. Again, Raven seems to be a little OCC, but I don't know how to fix it – she doesn't usually go around kissing girls. Please review : )


	20. Approval

**Concolor44:** Maybe Raven doesn't go around kissing girls in YOUR world. Heh-heh. She's  
>made quite a habit of it in my writing (well, with Jinx anyhow). Personally, I think she's staying pretty well in character. Pray do continue as you have been.<br>Where you described Raven letting slip about her being a demon was really effective. Some of your better work, I'd say. Then her reaction to Jinx's LACK of reaction was nearly perfect. I can see some hope beginning to grown there.  
>I can also see some affection growing. She WANTED to kiss Jinx this time, and refers to them as "involved". Sounds good to me.<br>But tell me ... WHAT are they - or anyone - going to do about the killer? Is he some sort of revenant or evil specter? Or maybe (and I shudder to contemplate this) he's a rakshasa or some similar type of monster? Don't leave us in suspense TOO long. Please?  
>And, um, get Jinx home safely. 'k?<p>

_Believe me, in my world, Rae is always kissing the girls. Heh. I have plenty of fanfiction that will never be shown the light of day with Raven gayness. But it's nice to hear she's in character. _

_And I'm glad the slip up worked – I re-worded it so many times xD_

_And I can't tell you! That would spoil the story! (plus I'm not too sure how they're gonna beat this thing myself!) And now you've said that I'm really tempted to have Jinx in an 'accident' but I couldn't do that... I'd feel like too much of a bad person^_^_

**Dricstar:** 'Bout time those two stepped things up a bit. I'm intensely curious, like  
>everyone else, to hear who this Shadow guy is. Keep up the fab work.<p>

_They have been playing it a little too careful for my likings too ;)_

_And I'm glad the killer still has your interest! _

**Darkshadow-lord: **Great Chapters! Looking forward to reading the next! Mm I wonder what the guy is?

_I'm glad you're enjoying it!_

**Spikesagitta: **She don't usually go around with her emotion so near to the surface either, so it's good. Abit of OOCness is ok at this point, just use her character, or how she would react to this kind of situation.

_Hmm, still I'm always so worried I'm gonna make her too OCC xD Prehaps I should stop worrying so much, hmm?_

* * *

><p>"Well, I kinda went on appearance so I just typed in Shadow man, and I found some article on Shadow Beings. But I wasn't too sure. I mean, they description sounded right but-"<p>

"Shadow men are like ghosts." Raven cut Beast Boy short as she entered the room, back in her uniform. "They can be disturbing to come across, but they can't physically hurt you."

She moved to the kitchen table and put down the stack of books she had been carrying. "Friend, I found you had misplaced your cape, and placed it back into your room – I did not do the touching of your things, and came straight back out."

"Thank you Starfire." She looked up, offering a smile. She knew the alien wasn't stupid; Starfire would have guessed that the empath had left for the city in a rush. Raven was naturally a neat person, and never left anything of hers lying around. Maybe it was time they had 'the girl talk'. Even if she didn't tell her who she was seeing.

"You seem to be in a better mood." Robin observed, his innocent statement saying loads to Raven that the others wouldn't have picked up on.

"Yes. The ordeal with the... creature shook me up, I guess. I've never had difficulty entering my own body before."

"So, do you think your books know what it was?" Cyborg asked, turning back to the computer, and deleting Beast Boy's search to start one of his own.

"I... hope so."

"Why so hesitant. Would it not be most helpful if your books held the needed information?" Starfire frowned.

"Of course. I just think I'd rather live _not_ knowing what he was. His emotional base was so..." She shuddered. "Even my father has a wider range of base emotions than this thing does."

"It obviously had the upper hand." Robin frowned. "So why did it leave us alone? When we entered the building he had you – he could have used you as a hostage; even killed you. But he didn't. In fact he moved you out of the way when we moved to attack. We'd been worried we would have to work lightly so we didn't injure you but...It doesn't make sense. He's definitely not a demon?"

"No. Why?"

"I was just thinking earlier..." Robin took in a deep breath, really hoping he was wrong, and not wanting to worry his friend with the idea. "Why did he choose to lure you there? You said it was a trap. Well why did he do it so close to the old library? I'd love to say it's coincidence but-"

Robin cut short as something in the kitchen exploded. "Warn me next time. I haven't meditated since the attack, and... just..." She shook her head against the wall of dread that pressed into her, thick and clogging. "There's no proof he knows what or who I am. Maybe he was just waiting until he came across one of us on our own." _But I wasn't alone._

The team watched as her face froze over with horror. They hadn't seen this much emotion from her in such a short space of time since she told them about the end of the world, and it terrified all of them.

"I need to check something." She muttered as she rushed back out of the room, silently cursing herself. Reaching her room, she reached for her communicator and the slip of paper Jinx had given her weeks ago, fighting the urge to pace as she waiting for an answer.

"Raven? I thought you had 'work'."

"You're back at home, or your base, or whatever?"

"Yeah. Chill."

"Jinx, something isn't adding up – with the murderer. He knew I was on the roof, and it's more than possible he saw you too. I don't know why he was near the old library, but Robin's worried. The incident with Trigon scarred all of us and..." She slowly breathed out, forcing herself to slow down. "Sorry. It's just... I needed to check you'd gotten back okay."

"Raven I'm fine. Honest." Jinx replied, and Raven could hear something in her voice that she hadn't before. It wasn't anything bad, but- "Well, almost fine. Mammoth cleared the fridge and Gizmo drained the place's power working on one of his stupid gadgets but whatever."

Raven closed her eyes. "Just be careful. Robin thinks he may be targeting me, but I don't believe that. I think he was just waiting until he could attack us one at a time – not that he needs that advantage, and if he's seen you with me, he could consider going after you too."

"Nice to know you care so much." She replied. "Although I don't like the sound of either of those theories. Any look diagnosing his species?"

"No. Not yet. I haven't had chance to look properly, and the others were chasing the theory of ghosts." She sighed. "I really could do with someone else who knows their mythology here."

"I do bad luck; I even know a lot of myths regarding good luck, but creepy shadow men? No."

There was a knock on Raven's door, and she knew it was Starfire even before the alien spoke. Robin knocked twice, and always timed the gap between each knock perfectly. Cyborg's were heavy and Beast Boy usually just yelled without knocking. However Starfire's were light and happy, almost as though she was knocking in time to a tune. "Friend Raven, are you okay? You seemed distressed, and we have not done the 'girl talk' for some time. May I enter?"

"Girl talk?" Jinx asked, and Raven could hear her amusement.

"Shut up." She growled quietly.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. Have fun. And stop worrying." Jinx hung up on her, and Raven put her communicator away before opening the door for the other female titan.

"Star, I appreciate the gesture, but maybe later. Now isn't exactly a good time."

"Do not speak the nonsense Raven. There is always time for the girl talk, and the boys are working at looking for an explanation to the nature of our murderer. Robin is looking through your books, and Cyborg and Beast Boy are searching the internet." She walked in, closing the door behind her. "You have been spending a lot of time away from the tower. Would it be correct for me to assume you have been doing the dating with someone not in the tower."

"Umm, yeah." She gave up any chance of escaping and sat down on the end of her bed. Starfire could be a powerful force when she wanted too.

"This is most wonderful to hear." Starfire smiled, joining Raven on the bed. "However, I know there is something about it that is bothering you. Do you believe Robin wouldn't approve?"

"I know he wouldn't." She sighed. "If it was one of you guys in the situation I'm in... I'd be angry at me too." She forced a short laugh.

"But you care for this person?"

"Starfire, my emotions are dangerous; I-"

"You have been allowing yourself to feel much more since the defeat of Trigon." Starfire cut her short. "Your emotions are no longer a danger – at least not if they are kept beneath the exploding point. Do you care for this person?"

"I shouldn't..."

"Robin told me that he did not think we should do that dating at first – he believed his role as our leader did not allow for it. And he is still unsure. But it works. Even if we did not date, we would still care for each other and there is no wrong in that. You were with them before the creature lured you, were you not?"

"How-"

"I am not as blind as the boys." She smiled. "After telling us your theory of it attacking lone titans, you realised something you hadn't before. You were worried that the creature had seen them too."

"You are way more observant that you let on to be." Raven arched her brow. "A little too observant."

The girl blushed, and smiled. "I was raised as a Princess; to notice all the faces of my court as a way of protecting myself from spies and wrong-doers. The game of politics is a difficult one. Is your date a civilian? If you are worried about his-"

"_Her_." She interrupted dryly.

"Forgive me. If you are worried about her safety I am certain Robin would agree giving her some degree of security, especially if you believe she may have come to the attention of the creature."

Raven smiled as she imagined Robin's face if Jinx walked up to the door of titans tower. She couldn't help it. "Somehow I don't think Robin would, Starfire. I _know_ I should have called it off a long time ago, but... she didn't react badly when I accidently told her about my demonic heritage and-"

"It is nice to know you belong somewhere, and to have someone who you can completely trust." Starfire nodded. "If you feel like you can't tell me who you are dating, do not. I do not wish to cause you unhappiness. Just know that I am happy you have found someone you can trust, and know that whoever she is, I have nothing against you dating her."

"You say that now." She muttered.

"You are the most sensible member of this team, and you are careful. If you trust her as much as I feel you do, which is more than you realise I think, then I trust your judgement."

"For all you know, I could be dating this shadow thing." Raven pointed out dryly.

"We have already decided this shadow being is male." Starfire replied as she stood up. "And that your date is a 'she'."

"Thank you Star." She followed the tamerainian to her door. "When... when I feel comfortable telling people, you will be the first to know."

"And I eagerly await that information." She smiled. "For then we can have a proper girl talk, perhaps after a trip to the mall of shopping?"

"Sounds good. After all this killer business has been dealt with."

They walked into the common room together and Beast Boy turned to Raven, looking more miserable than ever. "Dude, can you help now? We know _nothing!_ All this stuff about ghosts and aliens and imps is just frying my brain!"

"Yes, I can- wait... Beast Boy, I think you may be on to something!" She moved over to where Robin was sat with her books, roughly sorting through them until she pulled out an old tattered leather bound tomb, and flicking through its index.

"Go Beast Boy, it's your birthday! Wait... what did I figure out that could lead to something?"

* * *

><p>SO I kinda noticed no one seems to want to pass a critical eye on my writing apart from the odd person - so lets go for another approach. How about you tell me what keeps you reading my material? Then through process of ilimination (heh, don't quote the spelling) I can figure out what needs work :)<p>

Urgh, girl talk. Not my strong point. I mean, what _is_ girl talk? But I felt I'd been neglecting Starfire and Raven's friendship. I know, people what to hear about the shadow dude, and I'm getting there! But if this was in real life, they wouldn't be able to find the answer instantly, and the shadow dude has a few more surprises up his non-existence sleeves. This story's gonna be a lot longer than what I originally planned.

Anyway, all you girls reading this, care helping out a fellow female and telling me exactly what girl talk is? (or guys, you know, whatever floats your boat) As always, any reviews made would be most nice, especially the ones where you let me know where I need to improve ;)


	21. Green eyes

**Haven't written a ****Disclaimer**** in a while; well here it is. I don't own teen titans. I don't own anything DC, and I don't own DC. It's a shame I don't, cause well, then you'd have more Jinx and Raven stuff to read. And who doesn't want that?**

**On a side note; pears are the bestest, nicest fruit **_**ever**_**. You should eat one. Now. Go on. You know you want to!**

* * *

><p><strong>Concolor44: <strong>Inasmuch as I have a Y-chromosome, I do not quite comprehend "girl talk"  
>either. Frankly, neither does my wife. For a woman, she has rather a lot of testosterone. Most women irritate her.<br>That being said, I think you did a GREAT job with Star's ... let's call it a confrontation of Raven's recent activities. I'm really glad you aren't making her a ditz. Good on you.  
>What keeps me coming back to the story? As in, VERY EAGERLY awaiting your most gratifyingly regular updates? Hm. Okay, there are a few things I ask for from a story:<br>-Foremost, it has to have an engaging plot. You've certainly accomplished that, as attested by all the curiosity among your reviewers about the killer's identity. Add in a budding romance, and you've got a winner on your hands.  
>-Secondarily, I like to see well-rounded characters who have more than one dimension. Again, you've hit the mark, especially with Raven and (to a slightly lesser extent) Jinx, who are the protagonists.<br>-Next, I appreciate good dialog. That, you deliver handily. Though occasionally somewhat short, even abrupt in places, your conversations sound REAL. The characters say things real people would say, under those circumstances. Talks flow well.  
>-Lastly, attention to grammar and spelling is always nice to see. In that, you are getting better. There are still issues, and if you need a beta reader, I'll gladly pitch in, but on the whole I've noticed improvement. I guess that's about it. Carry on!<p>

_I'm starting to believe girl-talk is just a myth hah. Yeah, Star as a 'ditz' irritates me. Good to know the plot's interesting. And that I have dialog down well. _

**Spikesagitta: **Don't worry about Raven OOCness...it's really inevitable that she come across  
>as OOC to hardcore fans...her sexuality for one thing. And other things :P<br>What keep me coming back for more...? Well the JinxXRaven angle of course! That and I'm enjoying the mystery, and the plot of the story.

_I'm coming to terms with that... slowly. Heh. (Seriously she was __**created**__ for lesbianism!) And glad I seem to have gotten the mystery angle. Never sure when writing that. That word always makes me think of Scooby Doo, and then I struggle to remember what is meant to be in a mystery genre! _

**LilithRyoka: (see review section. Too long to post here!)**

_Haha if you reviewed every chapter, it would probably take up more space than my own writing! :')_

_Glad my writing has improved – or seemed to anyway! No, I was fearing this! I'm gonna have to try so hard to make ends meet with my killer now! Damn! :)_

**Darkshadow-lord: **Haven't really ever done the girl talk so I don't think I can help you much...  
>As for what brings me back to this story is that I like the pairing of Raven and Jinx plus I'm interested in the Shadow Man. So a ghost, alien, or imp? I'm guessing a certain kind of imp? You know when I first read the chapter about the Shadow guy I thought it was one of Raven's brothers but then Raven said it wasn't a demon so that cut that theory. So, then I was thinking about an Incubus, but that is still a form of a demon... so I'm still lost on what the guy is.<br>Though I can't wait to see what happens next!

_Yes, I do like Raven's brothers. The whole concept is most intriguing, but since she is the original sin 'Pride' she would have the upper hand if she were able to resist her demon. Couldn't make it that easy ;) _

**On to the story! (I really need to find a more effective way to answer my reviews!)**

* * *

><p>"Raven?" Robin asked the dark girl as she poured through her books.<p>

"Yeah; it's been like, an hour. I wanna know what I was 'on to.'"

"You mentioned Imps. It's not an imp. Not really. After all, I've never come across one with such..." Raven shook her head, glancing up at her team-mates as she answered. "Imps usually cause harm for mischief and their own amusement. And they rarely do it alone. However there was a sighting by a sorcerer of what he called a 'Shadow Imp'. I say sighting because he had documented it after creating it. He used some magic gained from the demon he had been worshiping or something – I didn't go into the details. It was more of a solo act, and didn't really have a form. Though I'm pretty sure it couldn't grab things with it's form – it used it's energy for telekinesis."

"Like you do?" Cyborg asked.

"No. I can loosely be classed under the title telekinetic, but I use my soul self to move objects. Telekinesis is done by manipulating your natural energy – or aura – to _will_ objects into moving. Many humans claim to have such abilities, but I have never come across a true practitioner. Human energy is simply too weak and the mind to frail."

"And this leads us where?" Robin tried to clarify, only just following.

"Nowhere." She admitted. "It just felt right."

"You believe we have another of these manipulated creatures on our hands." Starfire nodded.

"_Maybe_. I can't be sure. It looked like a Shadow Person; it had the emotions of a demon with bloodlust, minus those small amounts of humour I picked up... This would be so much easier if it was a demon – or if we even knew what it wanted!"

The empath glared at the pages of her books, becoming more frustrated by the second. "It had a high energy level; I should be able to sense it when it's in the city. It's not weak, but it isn't there! It shouldn't be able to block me, but it can't just disappear! Beast Boy's energy is weak, but I can still pick it up a few blocks away if I concentrated. Theoretically I shouldn't have to concentrate to sense this guy, and-"

Cyborg rested his hand on the empath's shoulder. "Relax girl. We're not expecting you to come up with all the answers."

"This is my field of expertise. I should know what this is." She insisted, brushing his hand off.

"And Robin's the detective, but it takes him a while to put together all the clues. Look, we haven't had a body in a while. Maybe we'll get lucky."

_Meanwhile...(Elsewhere)_

"It's a shame she didn't get the message." He mumbled, moving about the large stone room, only visible when he passed in front of one of the few candles he had lit for his guest's own enjoyment. "And it's easy to see what He saw in her. She does have potential as a dark agent." He glanced at the woman bound and gagged in the centre of the room. "Of course, that doesn't help _you_. She seemed quite sensitive to the last gift I left. I wonder if she can pick up emotional residual too. How much are you willing to bet she can?"

She tried to scream past her gag, almost chocking herself. Her green eyes had once been the envy of all her friends, but days of little water and less food had left them bloodshot and wild. These eyes tried to tell the being what her lips could not from behind that gag. They cried out in fear; begging for her life...

"You should consider yourself luckier than my other guests. Or maybe not. In the end, they will be the ones to witness my success." He traced her jaw with the shadow of his hand in a mocking gesture of tenderness. "Now, how do you want to do this? I think it's going to be less theatrical to look at than my last production. "

* * *

><p><strong>It talks! A short chapter, I know (the damn reviews are longer!). But this shadow dude is killing me! Gosh! I feel Raven's agony. I'm gonna let you all in on a little secret. I designed him without looking at mythological creatures already out there. And when I did some research to touch up on my knowledge I discovered I had cross-referenced. Oh well. I like him this way. <strong>

**And I just had to add that bit in at the end. Random spur of the moment kind of thing. I hadn't planned it, and I don't think it'll happen again. But... heh. What did you think?**

**Ugh, one more thing; I _was_ gonna get this beta-read first, but one) I didn't think it was long enough to bother with. second thing) once I'd written it I kinda wanted to get it out there... **


	22. Actor

**Concolor44:** Oh, Raven's GOTTA be feeling the frustration. As she said, that's her field of expertise.  
>The Bad Guy? One word: GAAHHHHH! You're trying to corner the 'creepy' market again. And what does he (it?) mean by 'dark agent'?<br>Having the Bad Guy stick in his own little piece the way he did there at the end is an occupational hazard for a fanfic writer. It happened to me in EoME when the wizard dude just jumped right in. Wasn't planned, but as you observed, it seemed to work.  
>Still lovin' the frequency with which you update!<p>

_Ahhh dark agent referring to the opportunity she's had since birth to help her father take over earth (Or simply destroy it herself. I'd say she has the power to make her own domain if she wished for it)_

**Darkshadow-lord:** Interesting Chapter! So the Shadow Guy is trying to get Raven's attention?  
>Looking forward to reading the next chapter!<br>Oh you can reply to the reviews through the review itself by sending a message directly to the reviewer.

_Meh that's a little too much trouble! Thanks for letting me know anyhow._

**Spikesagitta:** Ookay... It talks! Well that's kinda disturbing when you can now see into his character slightly...

_I'll take that as a good thing – after all, he's not gonna have a peaches and cream personality xD_

* * *

><p>Raven stumbled into the common room after a sleepless night of looking through her books, and in desperate need of a cup of tea. Cyborg and Robin were already going through some files the empath had decided she had no interest in. The lack of Beast Boy wasn't anything particularly note-worthy, especially before eleven, but the lack of Starfire was, and she took the matter up with her leader.<p>

"Something about walking Silky." He muttered, waving her question off.

Raven's eyes narrowed. "She's not going to be happy if you continue to ignore her like this. You remember how upset she was regarding your infatuation with catching Slade."

"She understands the importance of catching this criminal."

"Rae's gotta point man. She may understand, but that don't mean she's got to like it." Cyborg stood, moving to get himself another cup of coffee. "So Rae, how come you're suddenly so interested in other people's relationships?"

She scoffed, hiding her initial reaction. "My only interest is the effect it will have on my own emotional balance."

"Mmhm. Whatever you say Rae. Oh, and you look awful. Did you get any sleep last night?"

"I was reading."

"Yeah, well the boss looks like he got more sleep than you did." Cyborg shrugged. "I thought I told you not to worry yourself. We'll figure it out. Sooner or later." He added the last under his breath, and Raven guessed he hadn't meant for her to hear it.

The tower's alarm started, startling the teenagers. Robin moved over the monitor, muttering something about hostages and body counts. He was surprised to see it was a silent alarm that had been tripped; a silent alarm on Main Street with plenty of camera coverage.

_What the __**hell**__ is she doing?_ Raven thought furiously as she watched the Hive Five enter the bank.

"Dudes, what's the emergency?" Beast Boy asked, as he joined them in the room with the tamerainian.

"It's the Hive Five; a standard bank robbery." Robin told them, his relief instantly clear. "Beast Boy, Starfire; handle Mammoth." He glanced at the empath. "Raven, help Cyborg out with Gizmo. I'll deal with Jinx."

Raven had to fight to keep her normally stoic face from showing the relief she was feeling. She didn't think she would be able to seriously fight Jinx – not over something as petty as a bank robbery, and Robin would instantly know if she was holding back, pulling her attacks up short.

Wait_... 'as petty as a bank robbery'_..? This time she couldn't stop herself from turning a shade paler. Lucky her leader was distracted trying to reach the garage. Had she really just thought that? Sure, the Hive Five had never proven too much of a serious problem, but she was a superhero. Any crime – no matter how small – should have been important; should have come first in her mind.

Cyborg noticed the girl's inner turmoil, and regretted his decision to ask her about it later. Grabbing her attention, he nodded towards the doors and she started moving.

* * *

><p>They were trying new tactics. Again. Jinx and Gizmo stood on watch for the titans while Mammoth aimed to grab as much as he could carry. They didn't care for hostages. They never usually worked for them anyway.<p>

Jinx couldn't deny being nervous. She'd made sure the team stayed away from Jump in their past few heists. She knew Raven wouldn't be happy. Not at all. She'd managed to convince the boys that was how it had to be done – at least until they knew Raven had some kind of sympathy for Jinx, but they'd grown impatience with the lack of progress Jinx's 'grand plan' was showing. Jump's surrounding cities were nowhere near as rich. And Gizmo missed aggravating the titans. Especially Cyborg. It was always fun to take the walking trashcan down so easily with one of his many gadgets designed specifically for the cybernetic teen.

"Mammoth!" She hissed, glancing back at the gigantic teen. He caught the message and moved faster.

"I don't get it. If ya' been hangin' out 'n stuff with her, she's not gonna attack _you_ at least. Hey, maybe your plan'll work an' she'll throw her lot in with us."

"How many times do I have to tell you; it isn't as simple as that! She isn't natur-morally inclined to be one of the bad guys." She frowned at herself. _Of course she's naturally inclined. She's already proven that._

"Which I why I say your plan sucks."

"I already _know_ what you think about my plan. And it doesn't matter. Now keep an eye out for the bloody titans! We're not in those other cities where the police are our only opposition. We're not gonna be able to walk straight outa this one."

"Why don't more people attack those other places." Mammoth grunted. "We didn't lose once!"

"Money, snottbrain! Jump's one of the richer cities out there." He paused, and frowned at the doors. "I can hear their car."

The two villains prepared themselves, watching carefully for any movement at all, so they were unprepared when a blue blur fell towards Gizmo at a 60 degree angle. Her boot connected with the small boy's back and he flew forwards with a yell, directly into Cyborg's sonic cannon beam as he barged threw the front doors with Beast Boy.

Starfire and Robin had come in with Raven through one of her portals, and the leader attacked Jinx from behind, instantly tripping her up with his bo-staff. Raven did her best to completely ignore the meta-human as she shielded Cyborg from some miniature rockets and pushed that wall of obsidian energy into the villain, knocking him off his feet. The noise of Stafire's starbolts, followed by a floor-vibrating _thump_ let the sorceress know Beast Boy and the tamerainian had Mammoth covered. The only thing she was slightly worried about was the amount of pink hexes Raven kept seeing out of the corner of her eyes. Jinx struggled to use her hexes if she had to focus on other forms of combat, which meant Robin was taking the defensive. There was no doubting Robin's skill, but the team had their original pairings and tactics for a reason. Robin's main strength was fighting hand to hand (or hand to bo-staff) and so long as Jinx could keep him at a distance and destroy all his various gadgets before they reached her, she had the ultimate advantage. There was only so much he could do.

Cyborg had always been a better combat partner for the pink-haired metahuman. He could use his sonic cannon for long range, and easily overpowered the girl with his strength when he was close enough, however after his time in the Hive Academy (and the brief crush he'd picked up for the girl which only Bumble Bee knew from his blueprints, and Raven from his emotions) he'd told Robin he'd only fight the girl as a last resort, telling his leader that he had more personal issues to take out with the miniature electronic genius Gizmo. Robin had taken it for face value, and paired Raven with Jinx. The empath before had focused on Gizmo. She couldn't do much about Mammoth for his brute strength was sometimes strong enough to break her shields, but it had always been simple enough for Raven to take the boy's gadgets from him with her energy once she had the opening. Robin never usual fought Jinx without back-up – someone to distract her so he could get close enough to land a few blows.

Raven grabbed Gizmo's jetpack with her energy and ripped it loose, increasing Cyborg's advantage before she picked up a nearby counter with her energy and vaguely threw it in the direction of Jinx, distracting her and letting Robin get in with a jump kick. Jinx wasn't as fazed as Raven had hoped she would be, and threw a hex in Robin's direction – hitting him straight on –before aiming at Raven's feet with another. She smiled at the glaring demoness, picked up one of the bags Mammoth had been filling before the fight, and hi-tailed it for the back door.

Raven glanced around, and thought about calling for back-up, but everyone was busy, and Robin was still recovering from the hit. Being caught by Jinx's hex energy was more than painful, and she didn't even want to think what the implications of the unlucky hex could be in the long run for the body. She flew out after the girl into a small back alley. Seeing pink hair turn the corner at the end, she rushed forward, feeling angrier than she had in a while. She was getting sick of the control Jinx seemed to have over her emotions. Sick of the lack of control she suddenly had.

Jinx saw the empath coming after her and continued going. Part of her was hoping she could avoid a confrontation with Raven, even though she knew that was impossible. The villainess was fairly familiar with Jump City's back alleys, however she was too busy trying to stay ahead of the violet haired girl to focus on where she was actually going, and her luck ran out when she hit a dead end.

She offered Raven a smile as she turned around. "Hey there. Fancy runnin' into you."

"What are you playing at Jinx?" Raven hissed as she landed on the floor, closing the last of the distance between them on her feet.

"Hey, it's not my fault! I tried to keep the group away from Jump city-"

"Not your fault? I was under the impression _you_ led them."

"Well, yeah. But it's not like the titans!" She added in hastily as she saw the energy glowing around the girl's hands. "I don't have total control or the respect that you guys give bird boy. I just do the plannin' and organising. I don't know what you're so upset about. I mean, we didn't fight each other or anythin'. The others aint got anythin' to suspect."

"Jinx, I downplayed this robbery. Without even consciously realising what I was thinking. I'm meant to be a hero. My first thought should have been stopping you, not worry about whether I would have to fight you!"

"Well, I don't want you fighting me neither, but just, ya' know, play it out."

"Oh good idea Jinx; I'm sure Robin wouldn't instantly pick up on it." She threw back sarcastically.

"Damn it Raven! Last night you weren't bloody worried about the implications when you were ringing me up instead of researching your killer. If you were that concerned about the team and Robin, you would'a through my number away the moment I gave it to you, and you know it. And standing here yellin' about it wasn't your smartest move either – you don't know when your team could come round the corner lookin' for you."

"I can sense them." She hissed. "I know exactly where they are."

"And if they weren't, you'd what? Fall back into little miss perfect and take me out?"

"Jinx I'm not that good an actor and you damn well know it."

"So what would you do."

"I'd let you go; and that's the problem!"

"Why do you always have to turn everything into a problem? You always have to overanalyse everything."

"Because if I didn't, my demon would find it a lot easier to-" Raven cut short as pain flickered over her face, and her eyes widened in fear.

"Raven, what's wrong?" Jinx dropped the bag she'd been carrying and moved towards the empath.

She gasped, fighting the sudden feeling of panic, pressing against the temples of her head with her hands. They both heard something drop to the floor with a loud bang back down one of the other turn off's they'd passed. Raven struggled to tighten her mental defences and the alien feelings dulled, but not before she felt that trickle of amusement.

"He's here." She told Jinx, gaze searching everywhere – the roof tops, and the shadows, even though she knew he'd be almost invisible there.

"Who's here?" Jinx asked anxiously, picking up on Raven's panic.

"The killer. He-" She started moving towards where they'd heard something fall, past the alley they'd come from, and to the right.

It was another dead end, in-between one of the many clothes stores and gaming shops that littered Jump City's high streets. Just like any other alley in a big city, it was full of rotting trash and probably had its fair share of vermin. The only thing out of place was the woman, who lay in an awkward angle in the middle of the alley.

Jinx staggered, cursing at the sight as she closed her eyes and spun around, trying not to lose her breakfast. Raven was pretty certain the alien emotions had been coming from the body, but she had to check. She slowly inched down her shields, slamming them back into place with such force it gave her a headache when she felt that terror again. Not that the emotion was significantly overpowering, but because residual emotions appeared for two reasons. One was if it was a frequently visited emotion, like grief in a graveyard, or the determination that could often be felt in Robin's evidence room. The other was because it had been a particularly _strong_ emotion. Something that dominated all the other feelings at the time. Raven didn't really want to think about how much panic and pain the woman must have been feeling when she was killed. But it let her know she hadn't died from falling off the roof. That would have been too quick for the amount of emotion.

Raven started to walk towards the body –albeit reluctantly –to get a closer look. She knew it was from the Shadow killer, but hoped with every fibre that it wasn't. Jinx heard Raven move, and grabbed her arm without looking, eyes still firmly closed.

"Don't."

"Jinx, it's my job."

"What if it's a trap? Call the other titans here first."

Raven turned to look at the pink villainess, sighing softly when she realised the girl hadn't turned around. Just because she was some super villain didn't mean she saw death on a regular basis.

"Are you okay?"

"'_Am I okay'_? I'm standing feet away from a murdered somebody, seconds after you tell me the murderer is around here somewhere! Of course I'm not okay! Oh god; Raven he put it here for you to find!"

"Of course he did – he wants to bring it to the attention of the titans. We figured out that much already."

"No Raven, not the titans. _You_. Just-" Jinx pulled Raven back round the corner before letting herself open her eyes, and releasing a breath that shook her frame. She suddenly hugged Raven, completely surprising the titan. "What if it's a threat? A warning? Maybe he knows you're a demon or something and-"

"Jinx, it's not something I regularly broadcast, you know? The media wouldn't _let _me be a titan if they knew I was of half demon blood. Just imagine the headlines!"

"You said so yourself! This guy isn't human."

"There isn't much reason my demonic heritage would interest someone. Unlike most humans, other beings grasp the fact demons do not work for anyone, as partners or otherwise." She detached herself from the girl's grip. "I'd suggest you get away now – before I call the titans. Are you going to be okay?"

Reluctantly she nodded. "Sure I am; I'm a big bad villain after all."

"Just go straight back – and try not to panic and phone me for at least an hour. I won't answer. We'll have the police to deal with we can even think of going back to the tower."

She watched the girl nod, jogging down the alley until she took a left. Raven sighed, pulling out her communicator. _What the hell are you doing to me, Jinx?_ "Raven calling anyone."

"This is Robin – have you caught Jinx?" She could hear someone still fighting in the background. Probably Mammoth. She was surprised he'd lasted this long.

"No. Something more important came up."

"What? Raven's what is more important than-"

"I found another body." She cut him short with her mono-tone voice. "Or, another body found me."

"_What?"_

"Just... I'll explain when you get here. And call the police. It's our mysterious killer."

"On our way. I'll send Cyborg to your position, and leave Beast Boy and Starfire to finish the fight with Mammoth. I'll be down with the police."

* * *

><p><strong>SO, this idea was good while<strong>** I was typing it. Reading it over... I'm not too sure. I don't know, what did you guys think?**

**On a side note; I just happened to have a song on repeat while writing this. If you have time, you should check it out; _Zeromancer – houses of cards_. The lyrics kinda reflect what's happening to Raven at the mo thanks to Jinx. At least with the whole lying to the titans and figuring out what side she's on. Maybe. Whatever. It's a good song. **


	23. Old nemesis

**Diclaimer... just because I felt like it. I don't own teen titans. I especially don't own Raven or Jinx. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this – I'd be locked away in a bedroom somewhere ;)**

* * *

><p><strong>Spikesagitta:<strong> If you're going for creepy...yep you hit the mark pretty well. The creep-O-meter  
>just went up...a whole lot of notch...<p>

_Ah, I can settle for that :)_

**Concolor44:** Lots going on here.  
>Raven is conflicted about her feelings for Jinx;<br>Robin is trying to deep-six his relationship with Star;  
>Raven is having a LOT of trouble dealing with her feelings for Jinx;<br>Jinx's team is losing faith in her 'plan';  
>Raven's indecision about Jinx is affecting her performance as a hero;<br>the Killing Thing is toying with Raven's affections;  
>and Raven is completely confuzzled about the feelings she has for Jinx.<br>But GREAT DAY, do you tell it better than that! (And did the Titans succeed in incarcerating Mammoth and Gizmo? That was unclear.)  
>Oh, and Raven doesn't know how she's supposed to feel about Jinx. But I may have said that already.<p>

_Heh. Not too much I hope. And yes, Raven is __**utterly**__ confused. I think I would be too. No, I know I am. As for catching Gizmo and Mammoth; lets go with yes, shall we? It's not that important to the plot anyhow._

* * *

><p>"He must have been following me." She sighed. "One moment I was fighting Jinx, the next there was this bang, and I was feeling emotions that didn't belong there. And I could feel his amusement. Jinx saw her chance and ran for it. I was following her, when I noticed the body down the dead-end." She told Robin as they stood watching the police and forensic teams swarm over body in question.<p>

"Did you see the killer?"

"No. I think he just deposited the body and left."

"Robin!" The boy wonder looked towards the man who had called him; one of the higher ranking officers. "Mind if you take a look at something for me?"

He nodded at Raven to stay where she was before he moved over the join them. Cyborg walked to up take Robin's spot beside the grey skinned sorceress. "You okay girl?"

"I'm fine." She nodded.

"Look... I kinda noticed earlier... is there anything you want to talk about?"

She turned to look at her friend, scrutinising him for all he was worth. "Like what?"

"Well..." He scratched the back of his head in a nervous gesture. "It's just that you've been acting a little... odd."

"According to Beast Boy, I _always_ act 'odd'." She replied dryly.

"You know what I mean. Earlier in the common room when we received the alarm, it looked like something panicked you. I was just wondering if-"

"Raven, you need to see this." Both teens looked up at the sound of their leader's voice, and both of them felt saved despite the grudging tone in Robin's voice that hinted everything was about to get a whole _lot_ worse.

Raven moved to where Robin was crouched next to the body. The cop was still talking to him. "I've never seen anything shaped like that before. I don't know if it's meant to be some kind of signature or maybe a letter in some other language. If you knew it would help us a lot-"

Robin pointed silently to the woman's ankle, and Raven felt the wave of fear and horror washing over her and making her knees buckle. Cyborg rushed forward to catch her before she collapsed, and the various police officials all paused what they were doing to watch with concern and slight interest.

"Raven, are you- no way man! Say it ain't true!" Cyborg gasped, catching sight of what was causing all the trouble.

"Well, at least we know what he's up to." Robin muttered weakly, before looking at the cops. "This case is officially out of your hands. What we're dealing with is way too serious for normal humans to handle."

"You're teenagers!" The man protested.

"Officer Carlton, trust me on this. We have dealt successfully with this person before, and we will again, but you will not be able to help. This isn't a human – or a meta-human."

"Can you at least give us what this...symbol means? It's obviously of some great importance and if we could research it-"

"It's not on any data-bases." Raven spoke up as she regained her composure, pushing away from Cyborg, after offering him a smile in thanks. "However, there is some way you can aid us in stopping this." Robin watched her with wide eyes, not quite understanding where Raven was going with it. "There is a small religious affiliation – often appearing as cults – known as the Church of Blood. If you could arrange interviews for me with all of their priests and leaders, I would be most grateful. If they put up any resistance, which is most likely, tell them Raven wishes to contact them."

"You got that?" The officer asked one the others in uniform, and they scurried away. "We'll start looking for them immediately. The interviews will be held at the station, naturally."

"We wouldn't want it any other way. Just be warned that they can and are dangerous people. It wouldn't be wise to over look them."

Robin looked at Officer Carlton, even though he really wanted to know what was going through Raven's head. There was a time and place for that, and it wasn't here. "If that's it..? We'll be of more help researching back at the tower. We know all we need from the body."

"Yeah, sure. Just you kids be careful."

"_The church of blood_?" Robin asked once they were out of hearing.

"Trigon's worshipers here on earth." Raven nodded. "Remember when I told you about that Shadow Imp someone had created using demonic energy?"

"Yeah..?"

"You're the detective; this is awfully similar, and after seeing His mark, well maybe this is something one of the members of the Church of Blood created."

"And that's bad, right?" Cyborg clarified. "Like, really bad."

Raven slowly nodded. "There isn't really much they would want me for."

Robin placed a gloved hand on her shoulder, and offered her a warm smile. "We'll figure this out. We'll find out what it's after, and we'll stop it."

"Robin, we can't even hit it!"

"We'll find something. I promise. Come on, we'll fill the other two on the way back to the tower. This is good – in a way. We've got a direction to go in."

"Trigon?" Beast Boy yelled. "But I thought we defeated him! You know, when you went all White Raven on his ass. You practically vaporised him!"

"I defeated him, yes. But I didn't kill him." Raven shook her head. "Theoretically he should be very weak. It should be at least a few decades before he could even psychically contact any one on earth; however there hasn't been a situation like this before. For all we know, he could be almost back to his full strength now."

"So, say that this being does have connections to Trigon the Terrible; why would he then seek you, friend Raven?"

"Well... that would depend on if he's acting on his own or trying to accomplish something for the Church of Blood. But the basics would include getting me to re-open the portal, being an item of worship-" She pulled a distasteful face- "Creating more spawn linked to Trigon. Or somehow getting me to work for them thus increasing the Church's power. More or less."

"Do you have any idea who in the Church could be pulling the strings?" Robin asked.

She smirked. "None other than Brother Blood."

"What?" Cyborg yelled. "That creep?"

"Obviously the church is not a new movement. It's been around for many generations, and priesthood is passed down to the Priest's son at the time of his father's death. Often that was through murder, in an attempt to receive power. Brother Blood – our Brother Blood – is currently the end in the line."

"That is wrong on soo many levels." Beast Boy voiced.

"Isn't it?" Raven nodded dryly. "I got the police involved since it will be much simpler for them to look for those involved. If I go searching word will spread fast, and we'd have one of two reaction. People would either comply willingly, or they would go into hiding. The last could prove to be problematic."

"So – we're letting the police deal with the Church of Blood. That still leaves us with this... creature. Anyone had another thought on what it could be?" Everyone shook their head, clearly unhappy, and Robin sighed, not sure what to do next. "We probably should work on locating Jinx, but I doubt we'd find her." Raven cringed, and the ever alert detective noticed, to her dismay. "Raven?"

_Shit._ "I should have gone after her. The body wasn't exactly going anywhere."

"Don't worry about it. I doubt she'll be of any trouble with her team behind bars, and right now finding and stopping our killer does come above catching smaller criminals, meta-humans or not. _They_ haven't killed anyone." Raven nodded in response, and avoided looking him in the eye. "I suggest we get some lunch, then spend a few hours in the gym, going through some training. It's been a while since we took the time to do a proper work out."

"I guess that's what happens when you have a super-killer roaming your streets." Cyborg joked darkly, before moving to the fridge. "I'll cook."

* * *

><p>You know what else happens when you have a super-killer roaming the streets? You have to fight to keep up with your own plot, and JinxRaven time gets sadly neglected. I'm really starting to develop feelings of hatred for this shadow dude.

R&R as usual! :)


	24. Anywhere but there

So, today I found myself watching some good old fashioned Road Runner. And, besides from laughing, I decided Will E Coyote is currently reminding me off the titans, with the shadow dude as Road Runner. No matter what, they just can't seem to get a handle on him :')

* * *

><p><strong>LilithRyoka:<strong>_haha you're almost writing one-shots already! Glad to know the killer is still enticing even though it wasn't exactly very well researched._ _Hmm, yes it __**is**__ hard to create such an emotion in a reader, and truthfully I rarely experience it when reading. However, I shall definitely see how I can work on it! Raven's not exactly getting it easy, is she? Takes being 'cursed form birth' to a whole new level. __**Deadpool!**__ My friend Dricstar is a major fan and currently posting his own fanfic on the site – we are also working together to write a Teen Titans/Deadpool cross over. You should check it out, no? ;) And I am glad my other characters are also satisfactory! I'm kind of worried I'm ignoring them! _

**Darkshadow-lord: **Interesting Chapter! Looking forward to reading the next!

_Why thank you :)_

**Spikesagitta: **Uh huh...I predict...Jinx's going to be in trouble soon...with her team behind  
>bars, her strength is now down more than half..easy picking by the creature if it attack..<p>

_She is an easy target at the moment..._

**Concolor44:** Heh-heh. Fighting to keep up with your own plot is a good description of what  
>it means to be a writer. Don't sweat it.<p>

So. The Church of Blood again. Terrific. I guess we should have seen that coming from some of the Killing Thing's comments. But ... if he/it is affiliated with Trigon, and he/it ISN'T a human, how can he/it NOT be a demon? I think maybe I don't understand this cosmology as well as I might.  
>Robin IS going to catch Raven out in a fib, sooner or later. That will be exciting.<p>

_I do like the church of blood. A shame they never mentioned them in the animation. Such a promising story line *sigh*. Anyways, hmm, it is kinda hard to see his/is's connection, isn't it? Maybe he __**doesn't**__ have any connection, or maybe he's one of Trigon's servants. Maybe he's just aware of Raven's past and brought it up for his own amusement. You'll just have to find out! (aka you're not meant to know at this point in the story!)_

**Dricstar:** Every chapter draws me in more and more! There is definitely an element of a build up in this story. I am extremely excited to see where it all ends up. A whopping thumbs up from me!

_Why, thank you :)_

* * *

><p>"I've just been so bored! With both Gizmo and Mammoth with their asses in jail, I daren't pull a robbery; I'm not used to working solo, and there's nothing to take my mind off... <em>her.<em>"

"It makes it easier if you think of the body as an _it."_ Raven replied, putting down her fork. She didn't think she'd ever eaten out so often before, and she noted it probably wasn't doing anything for her figure, even if this was just lunch. _Thank god Robin insists on us using the gym regularly. How does the normal person deal with this?_ "It's been two days; are you sure you're okay?"

"You say two days like it means two years! Ya' know not everyone's a hardened Demon like yourself." Raven glared at Jinx in reply and she back off a little. "Yeah, I know. Sensitive topic. Sorry I said anything."

"I don't think it has much to do with my demon genetics, Jinx. I've had trauma training, I have my meditation techniques from Azarath, and I guess I have my job to focus on. If I let myself worry over what every corpse means I'd be in no position to stop our killer. I can think back on it later, when we're as safe as we've ever been."

"Bullshit! I had trauma training too, back in the Hive Academy before Brother Blood took over. And it didn't help one bit."

"You'd be surprised. _I _think you handled it quite well."

"You're meant to think that – you're my girlfriend."

Raven choked on air at the meta-human's statement, much to the pink eyed girl's amusement. "Excuse me?"

"Come on, Rae-Rae. There's no point in denying it. We see each other in date-like settings regularly; you actually kissed me back last time, you had the chance to give me to the titans but you _told_ me to escape." She listed off using her fingers to count.

"Somehow I don't think people in a regular relationship have to worry about whether or not to hand their girlfriend over to their best friends who just happen to be the Titans."

"See, you said it!" She grinned, leaning forward over the table slightly.

"Said what?"

"Girlfriend."

"Urgh! I was using it hypothetically!" Raven defended herself. "I never said it was you nor said your name."

"Come on! It's not going to kill you just to admit it. You like me big time, and I am so your girlfriend."

"Actually, about your earlier mention of my demonic side." Raven smiled, obviously changing the topic.

"Damn it girl! That's not fair."

"Well, if you're more interested in things other than my peculiar heritage, then by all means, change the subject." Raven had noticed that after letting slip to Jinx she was the daughter of an interdimensional demon, the questions had come thick and fast, often at random times. More so than the other topics Jinx would often ask about.

"No. Go on."

"Good. Actually we picked up a... lead from our last body. Don't tell anyone, but for once we're all stuck. We're running on a proverbial treadmill at full speed."

"_Huh?_" Jinx scrunched her face up.

"We're getting nowhere." She answered dryly. "And I thought maybe an outside view on it would help."

"Okay... shoot. Just, don't expect me to come up with anything amazing."

"Right. I'll try not to let my hopes rise too high. Okay, so, say you were the Priest of a demon worshiping cult, and the demon you worshiped had a daughter on earth. Say this creature that isn't of any known mythology suddenly appeared, leaving symbols of the demon this cult worships where the demon's daughter would find them. What role would the cult have in this? Or more specifically the Priest?"

"Well... when you put it like that, automatically assuming the priest dude has anything to do with it is kinda stupid. Anyone can use symbols. I think. I mean, that wasn't exactly easy to understand. Think you could write it down for me?"

"Forget I asked." Raven sighed.

"No, seriously. So this dude has been leaving your father's symbols where you'd find them?"

"One. On the last body." Raven nodded tightly.

"And what does this symbol mean to you?"

"Jinx, I don't see how this-"

"Just answer my question."

"It's... frightening. Hell, it's terrifying to see that symbol anywhere near me when it isn't in a book of prophecies. It holds too many bad omens and memories."

"So, if he – he being this shadow killer thingy – wanted to throw you off course; scare you and make you more vulnerable, he'd just have to litter this symbol round right?"

"But where would he get that symbol from? And how do we know he's not planning something involving my father? I _can_'t fight him again, Jinx."

"Chill girl." Jinx said, slightly alarmed, taking the titan's hands in her own. "Your friends are on it. Even if this guy was somehow involved with your daddy, I doubt it'd reach the point beyond no return. And well, if it does, just make sure I get a hall pass in hell so I can come visit you."

"Not helping Jinx."

"Heh. Sorry. But the only thing that's gonna help you right now is a few hours where you can think of anything _but_ this mess." She waved the waitress over, and Raven passed her the bill, before Jinx dragged her to her feet. This was becoming a common theme.

"I don't have to luxury to think of anything else right now. This isn't like you guys – every time we make a mistake; every hour we waste, we're so much closer to finding a dead body."

"And since you're not exactly making any progress anyway, we don't have to worry about it. I mean, this is the first serious killer Jump City's had. You guys can't get everything right. Anyway, enough with Raven the Teen Titan. I wanna see Rae the normal girl."

"You mean, _Raven_ the normal girl with a soul-self of dark energy and demon heritage. Sure sounds normal to me."

"Hey; I tried." Jinx shrugged, before setting off determinedly in one direction, pulling her 'girlfriend' along with her.

"Where on earth are you taking me now?"

"We're staying in Jump, don't worry, but it's half past one, and Robin gave you guys the day off unless there's an immediate emergency like say, oh a bank robbery. I intend to take full advantage of this time."

"Oh god, please don't say you're gonna drag me to the mall!" Raven looked at her with genuine fear.

"No." She chuckled. "But now I think about it..."

"Anywhere. Anywhere but there, please. It's bad enough the Starfire takes me there occasionally."

"_Anywhere_ hmm? Don't worry, I wasn't gonna take you shopping anyway. I think I'm banned from most of the shops."

"Why do I get the awful feeling I'm gonna regret saying that?" The empath moaned.

* * *

><p>"Oh no! Jinx, you did not!" Raven closed her eyes and covered them with her hands before she attempted to high-tail back out the building Jinx had dragged her into.<p>

"Come on! It's only for five minutes while I change into something more suitable. A skirt isn't really practical for what I had in mind."

"I can't be in here!" Raven hissed, still keeping her eyes closed as Jinx started dragging her down what must have been one of the building's corridors. "This is wrong on so many levels! You do realise all I have to do is slip this information to Robin, and you're busted. Permanently. Until you set up a new base."

"But you're not gonna tell him."

"And that is _exactly_ why I shouldn't be here! It's one thing letting you go at the scene of the crime, but if Robin knew I even had the tinniest bit of information on this place and I didn't tell them-"

"You'd be thrown of the team; I know."

"I'd be apprehended as a criminal! I could be charged as an accessory to crime!"

"Chill Rae; they're not gonna find out unless you tell them."

"And what about your team? What happens when they find out you brought a titan here?" Raven listened to a door open with a woosh of air – it sounded like one of the doors back in the tower. Strange.

"They already know I've been seeing you." Jinx shrugged. "I'll explain _after_ I've changed. Now, if you were looking, you'd know that this is my room. I'll be back in a minute."

The door behind her opened again, and the girl's footsteps grew fainter until the door closed and blocked them completely. Raven had never felt so uncomfortable in her life. Not when she was telling the Titans about her father... not when... well, not ever. She fidgeted, fighting the urge that told her to look around, extremely careful to keep her hand over her closed eyes.

"Stupid meta-human. I should just teleport straight out of here and back to titans tower, and it'd be all her fault." Raven grumbled to herself, "_That_ would make her think twice about her stupid ideas." _Of course then I'd have to explain exactly what I was doing with her in the first place._ She didn't want to say those thoughts out loud.

She started tapping impatiently with one foot. _Why would their doors sound like ours anyway. They're Cyborg's custom design. Heh, maybe they picked through the blueprints when they took over the tower. Cyborg wouldn't be happy to hear that. He'd probably insist on re-building the whole tower. Yeah, I'd rather he __**didn't**__ do that. _

The door opened again, making Raven jump slightly. She pulled her face down into a frown. _Stupid meta-human_.

"Oh come on. Do not tell me you've been stood here the whole time with your hand over your eyes." Jinx sounded equally amused and exasperated. She walked around and in front of the girl, before grabbing the hand over her eyes and trying to pull it away.

"No!" Raven quickly used her other hand to make sure Jinx wasn't going to win.

"Seriously! I thought you were supposed to be the mature one!" Jinx laughed, now using both hands.

"My conscious can just about stand dating you, and letting you waltz free from robberies that you didn't actually manage to get anything from, but this is crossing the line."

"Ahah! You said dating!" Jinx cried in celebration. "See, it wasn't that hard."

Raven was finding the temptation of glaring at the pink haired girl _very_ hard to resist. "Whatever. You're ready, so can you just guide me out of here?"

Jinx's grin went unseen to Raven, so she didn't realise the mistake she'd made until it was too late. "Nope."

"Jinx."

"If you wanna get out, you're just gonna have to open your eyes and find your own way."

"If you want to get your butt kicked, you're going about it the right way." She threatened, the dark tone somewhat ruined by the lack of eye contact.

"You've got to be able to see me if you want to attack me." Jinx pointed out. "Duh! Just, you're already in here. Looking won't kill you."

"No. Looking wont. Robin will."

Jinx went back to trying to peel Raven's hands away from her face. "Stop being so difficult. The sooner you stop being so childish, the sooner we can be out of here, and where I planned for us to go in the first place."

Raven stepped backward in order to escape the villain, but stepped straight into a wall. Shocked, Jinx managed to pull Raven's hands away, and purple eyes met pink. Both were surprised at how close they were, and Raven found herself blushing.

Jinx stared at her for a second, her smile slowly fading into more of a serious look before she closed the distance between them, slow enough to give Raven time to react – whether to push her away or not. Raven hesitated a second, before moving to meet the slightly taller girl, a jolt going through her as their lips met. There was maybe a moment of careful balance, the moment when Raven knew she should have pulled back and got out of there as through hell's fire itself was chasing after. Instead, the empath wove her hands through Jinx's bubblegum pink hair, thinking how glad she was it wasn't in its usual horns. The thought vanished as soon as it formed when the meta-human stepped even closer to Raven, all but holding her against the wall as her tongue delicately licked across Raven's bottom lip.

Raven let Jinx enter her mouth, while she moved one of her hands down from the girl's hair and round her waist, pulling her even closer.

"We should... probably get going." Jinx muttered in between kisses, through feeling no need to leave the embrace.

"Hhmm." Raven wasn't even really paying attention to the girl, too caught up in the moment.

Jinx moved to lay kisses on Raven's jaw, and finally the grey skin of her neck. Something shattered courtesy of Raven's powers, and they practically jumped apart. Or Jinx did. Raven was still against the wall.

"Damn. Sorry." Raven cursed, instantly looking embarrassed.

"That's okay. Should'a expected somethin like that to happen." She offered a smile, trying to catch her breath back. She looked Raven over, and contemplated closing that space again, when the empath nudged herself away from the wall and cleared her throat.

"Ugh.. right. There was somewhere you wanted to go?"

"Yeah. The Theme park. I was gonna take you to the theme park." She nodded, and took Raven's hand before pulling her out of the darkened room. "You do like rides, right."

"I've never been on a ride before."

"Oh, well, you'll like it. Mainly because I'll be there." She winked, losing some of her fluster.

"Somehow having a walking bad luck charm on a rickety structure with me – me having destructive powers of my own – is not a comforting thought." Raven replied dryly, still careful not to look around too much as she let Jinx lead her through the corridors.

"Yeah, well... it's safe. Promise. I'm sure you can teleport us somewhere safe if not."

* * *

><p>Damn. If there's one thing worse to right that the lovey dovey romance crap, it's the whole detailed lovey dovey crap. However, I've been cruel to Raven lately, and she needed some cheering up in the form of Jinx. That and my mind's been going a little stir-crazy. Writing this helped.<p>

Urgh, so yeah, comments would be most nice on this one. :) (Man I knew I shoulda stuck to playing Dead Nation rather than writing this. Zombies are soo much easier)


	25. Trust

Originally I wasn't going to write this chapter – but leave it to your wonderful imaginations. However, it's a welcome break from the rest of the plot, and I like the Jinx/Raven couple too much to pass up writing it!(note: It was a welcome break. Until things began to get a little complicated, and once again I was running full pace just to keep up. Here's hoping it's okay)

* * *

><p><strong>Concolor44: <strong>Oh, yeah. Raven on a roller coaster. What could possibly go wrong? Jinx,  
>you have now OFFICIALLY lost your mind.<br>They are Just So Damn Cute together! Beside which, their little bouts of 'quality time' are getting steamier (thank you!) And I think Jinx is probably right. Raven has gnawed that bone until there's little left to gnaw. She needs to take a break from thinking about it. A different perspective (for HER, not from Jinx) will doubtless be of signal aid.  
>Heh. Jinx as the more mature-acting of the pair. Who'd a-thunk it?<p>

_Heh, it's a disaster waiting to happen, isn't it? And yes, over thinking rarely solves anything. Heh, Jinx and Raven time really is becoming quality time. Funny, how originally Jinx and Raven time was gonna be most of the time. But back then, my mysterious killer didn't exist. Blame him. It's all his fault._

**Spikesagitta: **Aww! That's just so cute and adorable ^^ *gushes like the fanboy he is*

Too bad there's a bad evil, menacing shadow/demon thingie loose out in Jump City too...

_I know, isn't it *fangirl spaz* ^_^ As for our killer... grr_

**Dricstar: **Wow! So close yet so far! They nearly stepped up their relationship by the  
>sounds of it.<p>

_Haha they are getting awfully close to the danger zone. _

* * *

><p>"You know maybe you should have taken me shopping." Raven muttered, as she looked up at the huge rides stood around her. "I am so <em>not<em> going on one of them. Ever."

"What? Is the mighty demoness afraid of a few miles of track?"

"Jinx, all it takes is a slip of my control and those few miles of track could turn into a death trap!"

Laughing, she grabbed the empath's chin and turned her head so Raven was no longer looking at the rides, but at her. "I have bad luck – a serious case – and I've never come close to dying on a ride." She quickly kissed the tip of the girl's nose. "Come on – we'll start with something easy, like the rapids. All you have to do is sit there. You don't leave the ground. And there isn't much of a track for you to break."

"If you're lying to me..."

"Would I lie to you Raven?" She gave the girl her best innocent face as she started walking through the crowd.

Raven moved to keep up with her. "Yes. You would. And you never explained to me why the Hive knows you've been... dating me."

"Heh, well... long story short I had this amazing idea that we could get you on our side. I mean, we'd kick the titan's asses and it would totally ruin their – and your – reputation." She quickly took hold of the girl's hand. "But whatever. That doesn't really matter to me anymore. I'm just keeping it up with the guys so they don't get all pissy about me seeing you and stuff." She looked at Raven, chuckling nervously when she saw the dark look that passed through her eyes. "Seriously Rae, I promise that isn't what it's about no more. I know you'd never leave the titans for us. And yet I'm still here."

Raven took her hand back, hating how betrayed she was suddenly feeling. "Fuck you, Jinx." Her voice had gone dangerously monotone, and she turned on her heel to walk back the way she'd gone.

"Damn it Rae, did you not- MOVE!" She pushed an overweight man to the side as he walked in her way, ignoring the looks he – and some of the people nearby – gave her. "Did you not listen to a thing I said? Raven, that doesn't matter to me! It stopped holding any importance a while ago."

The empath chose not to reply, still steadily making her way through the crowd, seeming to have a much easier time than Jinx. "Can you please just _try_ to understand Raven? I didn't freak when you told me about your dad; can you just give me the courtesy of doing the same here?"

"Freak?" She glanced back at the meta-human. "I'm not freaking. I'm leaving."

She pushed between a mother and her child as she reached to grab Raven's arm. She was suddenly feeling claustrophobic, which was weird. She'd never been claustrophobic. "Raven please. I wouldn't have told you if I knew you were going to react like this. Please Raven, don't do this. I'm not doing this for the stupid plan any more."

Raven continued walking until she'd left the park, turning down one of the nearby alleys when she realised the girl wasn't going to go away. "Why was I stupid enough to even _think_ I could trust you?"

Jinx knew it was a rhetorical question, but she answered anyway. "You can trust me!"

"I'm such an idiot!" A nearby trashcan exploded, and Jinx jumped round it as she followed Raven round a corner. "This is just Malchior all over again. Why didn't I fucking see it coming?"

A dumpster was eclipsed in her obsidian energy and started melting. Actually started _melting_. Jinx watched it with wide eyes, now cold with fear. "Shit, Raven, stop it!" She rushed forward and put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "You need to calm down; your powers are going haywire!"

The pink haired girl suddenly found herself flying through the air, the cold energy pinning her to the wall, feet off the ground. She glanced at what was left of the dumpster, and suddenly feared for her life. She didn't want Raven's magic anywhere near her right now – especially not wrapped around her.

"I _trusted _you!" She spat in the girl's face, her energy levitating her so she was the same height. "I lied to my friends – repeatedly. I let you go when you robbed the bank. I- urgh! All for a fucking _lie?"_

"Raven, no! No! Whatever you thought, it wasn't a lie." Jinx tried to wriggle out of Raven's hold, even though she knew it was pointless. She just couldn't help it though. "I've been lying to my team as much as you have yours; Rae I've been neglecting heists and god knows what, and the only reason I haven't been booted out is because they think I'm following some stupid plan. I don't know who this Malchior guy is, but I promise I'm not trying to hurt you – or use you."

Raven stared at her, internally fighting the urge to kill her; crush her with her soul self, and to throw her across the alleyway. "I trusted you." Raven stated again, this time barely louder than a whisper.

"I know. And you still can."

Raven's feet slowly lowered to touch the floor, and she let Jinx go, stepping back a few feet, Jinx stepped forward, about to speak, when someone else cut in.

"Now that's a disappointment." His voice almost echoed through the alley, and both girls frantically looked around, instantly on edge. Raven recognised the voice, and she really wished she hadn't. "We were so close to seeing your demonic side! I could literally taste it."

"Jinx, go."

"What?"

"Now! Go to the theme park or something! Just, find somewhere crowded. Now!"

"I don't think so." The man's voice laughed, and the creature stepped out from the shadows deeper down the alley. "I'm definitely not letting her go _that_ quickly. I was ready to see your friend die, and although it would have been terribly interesting to watch _you_ kill her, Raven, I can live with doing it myself."

He moved forward, just a blur, and when he re-appeared he was standing back down where he started, only this time with Jinx. He had one hand around her neck slightly cupping her jaw, the other resting on her shoulder as though he were getting ready to snap her neck. Jinx was watching Raven with wide eyes. She obviously recognised the hold too, and was too scared to move.

Something clicked within Raven, and she felt her second pair of eyes open, bleeding crimson, as her canines lengthened into fangs. She rushed forward with a roar, tendrils of dark energy moving forward ahead of her, ripping the girl from him and carefully moving her out of harm's way behind her, while four others grabbed the shadow. The demoness cried in triumph as she slammed him against the alley wall, hard enough to send plaster and bricks raining down on him. Although occupied with trying not to give her demon too much reign to take over completely, she noticed that he'd seemed to permanently solidify when she'd grabbed him.

"This... was unexpected." The creature coughed, trying to rip one of the tendrils off his shoulder.

"Don't even think about it." She warned him, her voice sending chills down Jinx's spine. It wasn't Raven's voice. At least, it wasn't the croaky, quiet voice she was used to hearing. It seemed to covered everything, echo without losing its volume. Damn, it was weird. "No one can defeat me; not my father, and definitely not some crossbreed."

"Who's the crossbreed?" He smirked. "Go ahead. Kill me."

Jinx watched the exchange with wide eyes. She knew Raven wouldn't kill anyone, for any reason. But then she knew this wasn't really Raven. Or the Raven she was used to seeing. The fight going on between her two halves was painful clear on the girl's face, and the Shadow used the distraction to kick her with his free leg. Already struggling with her own internal battle, she stumbled backwards, her grip on the killer loosening, and then vanishing all together as the tendrils seemed to dissolve into thin air. Jinx looked at Raven to find her hunched over, eyes shut, seemingly in some sort of pain.

The killer laughed, and brushed himself down. "Well, now we know you can touch me, I'm going to have to re-plan everything. I was thinking you would be too easy. At least now I know you're going to be more of a challenge. I'll be seeing you soon – don't worry." He glanced towards Jinx. "And I'll be back for you when she's not around."

He stepped back through the wall behind him, once again seemingly bodiless, watching Jinx the entire time. Jinx rushed over to Raven as soon as she was sure he wasn't coming back.

"Raven, are you okay?"

"Stay back." She said through gritted teeth. Jinx was relieved to hear Raven's voice was back to normal.

"But Rae you're-"

"Not fully... in control."

She ignored the warning and grabbed the girl's shoulder, helping her straighten up. "We need to get out of here before he decides to come back. And not to the theme park. There's a smaller park not far from here. Usually busy. We should be okay there." The Empath didn't protest, letting Jinx support her so she could focus on locking her Rage back into it's cage. "Heh, at least we know it's not invincible. I mean, you hit it pretty hard. That's good, right? You can tell your friends and next time you meet it-"

Raven finally straighten up, and opened her eyes, which were back to their normal amethyst colour. "Jinx, this _isn't_ good. My soul self didn't work like that when I attacked it without my demon in control."

"Well, even your partial demon seems to have some power boost thing going on. I mean, did you hear your own voice? It was like those voice-over guys in the movies... only scarier. And when you grabbed it, it solidified. Those bricks _hit _him. I mean, if the titans were there, you could hold it still while why beat they shit out of it. Or him. Or whatever."

"Jinx, the longer I stay like that, the more chance I have of passing the point beyond no return." She sighed. "And my demon _isn't _exactly a team player."

"What do you mean, 'point beyond no return'?"

"If my demon gains full control, it's not exactly going to give that up any time soon, is it? If I... let that happen, my human self would be gone for good. The Titans would have to kill me."

"Whoa, what? How do you even know that's gonna happen? Maybe you could regain control."

"I don't think so Jinx."

"So what you're saying is, if you fight this guy, that's it. You're gone?" She frowned, as Raven tensed. "You didn't attack _me_. You bloody picked me up with those weird tentacle things of yours, but you didn't even grip me too tightly."

"I know."

"Why?"

"I don't know!" She snapped. "I was too busy trying to keep control to worry about the details."

"Heh. Even your demon likes me."

"We're the same person." Raven sighed, "The only reason it might seem otherwise is because I've spent my whole life compressing it down."

"Naw, you have a bad case of split personality disorder – don't even try to deny it."

"Jinx, please, now it not the time."

"Okay, okay. But what I don't get is why it didn't kill us. You were just kinda hunched over there, and I was in no position to defend myself, but it just upped and left. Is it moronically stupid?"

"It's playing with us. And from what I can gather it doesn't want me dead."

"Oh, well. Luck you. I'm gonna be watching the shadows for the rest of my life now. I'm not even gonna be able to take a crap without worrying if he's gonna appear."

"_Lovely_, Jinx. Your descriptions amaze me." Raven pulled a disgusted face. They reached the park – a small field of grass with a small child's play park – and sat down on one of the banks. Raven watched the parents' help their children climb the metal frames, and push them on swings, sorely feeling like she'd missed out on so much. "I'm not going to let that be an issue. You're coming to the tower."

"_WHAT? _Nuh uh! Sorry Rae, but Robin will push me into a cell the moment he sees me. I'd rather take my chances with the crazy killer."

"Don't be stupid. They're not going to know. You can stay in my room, and I'll just have to spend time outside the tower more than usual. But no-one ever goes into my room. That and our killer won't be able to come in. The tower is securely protected against teleporters and all that. The only reason I can move through the tower freely – including phasing through walls and the like, is because my DNA's in the building's security."

"Well, when you put it like that.." Jinx slung an arm across the girl's shoulder. "...You should stay at mine. More privacy."

"Oh for god's sake Jinx, please keep your mind out of the gutter."

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You can't even look around _my_ home without going all guilty conscience on me, but I can practically _live_ in your room and you don't feel guilty? Not only are you dating me, not only are you keep god knows how many secrets from them, you are hiding me _under _their noses!"

"I'm trying not to think about that." Raven muttered.

"As fun as a sleepover would be – and I think it would be very, very fun – why don't we just make this a whole lot easier for the both of us; you come back to mine, and set up some of your fancy wards to keep this guy out. Then when Gizmo get's back, I can get him to upgrade our security to stop anything from just jumping in and out of the place. Except for you, of course. I don't mind you popping in to visit."

"That would make more sense. Sorry, I don't think very well when I let my emotions get a hold on me."

"I've noticed." She laughed. "So, how long will it take you to set up the wards?"

"It depends on how big the place is."

"Then come on – we'd better get started. Robin's gonna want you back to your tower at some point."

* * *

><p>Damn this chapter was meant to be relaxing. Instead it's killing me – stomach cramps, anxiety, headaches, backache; the whole lot! Damn you Jinx! (it's soo her fault). Ugm so... what do you think. I personally think it's crap, and I keep trying to edit it to make it better, but no success. Maybe there's simply too much going on for one chapter. *frown*<p>

On the bright side, the next chapter is going to be so much more frightening to write. If it isn't posted for a while, it's probably because I had a panic attack and a heart failure and I'm in hospital somewhere recovering while the doctors baffle over what caused it. Don't you just love writing? ;)


	26. Tired of playing around

_**WARNING**_**! Badly written yuri-ness in this chapter. Lemon style. Descriptive lemon Heh. Only fair to warn you. (why is it bad? Cause it's my first lemon, so be forgiving!) **(Oh god, some of my readers are friends -_- I may have to hide indoors for a bit)

* * *

><p><strong>Spikesagitta: <strong>Hmm...yup, sometimes honestly is not the best policy...but at least thanks to our...err nemesis, Raven is not trying to kill Jinx. Well she tried...but the important thing is she didn't go through with it! Yeah, look at the positive side!

_Saved by the bell, huh? _

**Concolor44: **Damn, Jinx, you really know how to kill the mood, don't you? But then, the  
>Killing Thing is even better at it, so, hey, don't worry.<br>And it seems Rage can touch him. That's ... fascinating. So it has something to do with inter-planar reactions? Maybe? Still trying to sort that out.  
>And, again, Jinx has to do the thinking for both of them. Poor Raven. She has, you might say, a lot on her mind: secrets from the Titans, an eldritch being on her tail, a sort-of-girlfriend she doesn't know what to do with, and now fear for said pseudo-girlfriend's safety. Not to mention keeping her demonic side under control, which is never easy or simple. I really feel for her.<p>

_Haha, saved by a dude who wants to kill her anyway. I don't think Rae really understands it neither. But hey, never look a gift horse in the mouth – even if this one is laced with dangers and implications. Yeah, Rae seems to be struggling a little at the mo huh? And good; you're meant to feel a little sympathy at this point. Actually I'm pretty pissed that she keeps trying to overlook such a good relationship ;)_

**Dricstar:** Good chapter. Having Raven encounter the Shadow again is put in at the perfect  
>moment; Raven being in the state she was. I think it's definately time to show your readers what this shadow dude is really capable of (at least in his next appearance). Fab, as usual!<p>

_xD_

* * *

><p>"You done yet?"<p>

Raven sighed irritably as she peeked at Jinx through her eyelids. "No. And if you keep talking I won't be accomplishing anything any time soon. This takes immense concentration, so could you shut up – please?" Jinx sighed, but sat of the sofa, leaning over to watch the empath as she levitated in mid-air, eyes closed. She started muttering something that wasn't her mantra, and even as untrained as she was Jinx felt the waves of magic pouring off the girl.

The white candles she'd borrowed off Jinx, and set in a circle around her, suddenly flared into life. It was entertaining. For a while. Then the meta-human started to get bored. She _hated_ sitting still with nothing to do, and was sort of regretting that she hadn't moved to another room while Raven did the whole hocus-pocus shtick. That way she at least could have watched TV or something.

She puffed out her cheeks with air as she resisted the temptation to repeat her question. She looked at the nearby clock on the DVD player – a Sony addition stolen from Cooks Electronics – and sighed. How long did setting up a few wards take? The place was no bigger the titans tower. She frowned; suddenly realising she didn't know how long Raven had spent doing those wards.

Sighing again, she turned around on the sofa and hung her head over the back, glaring at the ceiling. She suddenly coughed and sat up as her neck strained and her breathing seemed to cut off, a hand going to her throat. Apparently the shadow dude had done more damage than she'd thought when he'd grabbed her. Though being pulled along by her neck at faster-than-light speed was sure to bruise. Hell, she realised she was probably lucky that hadn't _broken_ her neck.

Raven appeared in front of her, making Jinx jump. "Gosh. A little warning next time would be nice."

"Sorry. Is your neck hurt?"

"I dunno. That shadow dude musta pulled on it or something." Jinx shrugged.

"Move your hand." Raven ordered, and replaced them with hers, before using her healing energy.

"Damn girl, that feels weird." Goosebumps broke out over Jinx's flesh in reaction to the crystal blue energy. "You gotta teach me how to do that."

"Sorry. It's an innate ability." She muttered, concentrating of sending the energy where it was needed. She winced when she felt the bruise on her back. "You didn't tell me I'd hurt you."

"One) you were pissed. Two) I didn't think you could do anything about it." Jinx shrugged. "You done the wards?"

"No." She muttered dryly. "I was almost done when you started coughing."

"Oops." She smiled, looking at Raven's face, inches from her own, set deep with concentration. "Hey, Rae?"

"What?" She looked up from where she'd been watching her hand, letting the healing energy vanish.

"Does that mean you're gonna make we wait even longer?"

"You wouldn't have to if you'd keep quiet. Hang on. Wait for what?" She frowned, pulling her hand back from the girl's neck.

"Well... I don't know." She grabbed the emapth's hand and tugged on it, pulling Raven off balance. "This, maybe."

She arched her back up off the sofa and continued to pull Raven down with her hand until their lips met. She wasn't as gentle this time, confidant Raven wasn't going to protest, and threaded her free hand through the violet locks, grabbing a handful. The kiss was forceful enough that Raven knew it was either open her lips or be bruised. She went for the first, her hands moving to either on the back of the sofa to support her weight.

Jinx's free hand moved to Raven's back, and down, tracing the hem of her shirt delicately with her fingertips. One of the lights exploded, and Jinx kept Raven from pulling back with the hand in her hair.

"Everything in here's stolen. You'll be doing the law a favour." The pink haired girl murmured as she slipped her hand under the bottom of the Demon Halfling's top and rested it on the bare skin of her lower back.

Raven kissed Jinx back feverishly, a small sound leaving her lips as Jinx's hand moved down to cup her ass through the material of her jeans, her eyes popping open almost comically. "Jinx, my powers-" She muttered, pulling back enough to speak.

"We've had one light explode." Jinx replied quietly, moving so her lips hovered over the base of Raven's neck. "I'd say we're doing just fine."

Jinx's warm breath washed over Raven's grey skin, and she shuddered, her eyes closing so she could concentrate more on the sensations. Jinx left a trail of kisses before biting down, grazing her grey skin with her teeth. A quiet moan left Raven's lips; so quiet Jinx was sure she had imagined it. She shyly bit harder, not wanting to harm Raven, and was utterly shocked when it was greeted with a low, inhuman growl. She stilled, careful not to move and Raven laughed, setting a knee either side of the girl on the sofa, straddling her lap.

"I'm not going to eat you." She muttered.

"Well... I don't think that's what I'm worried out." She replied, carefully glancing up, relieved and slightly disappointed when she saw those amethyst eyes.

Raven shook her head as she draped one of her arms around Jinx's neck, moving in for another kiss. "Then what _are _you worried about."

"I thought we just had your powers to worry about." Jinx muttered, her breath hitching in her throat as Raven moved to lick a thin line under her jaw, following it back up with kisses.

"Don't we?" The empath asked, barely audible, before she sunk teeth into Jinx's neck, mirroring her own bruise she knew was there, only she broke the skin before she pulled back.

Jinx dug her nails into the skin of Raven's back as she arched against her, pressing their bodies together. "Damn it Raven!" She hissed, "You'd better be prepared to use your healing energy on me when we're finished."

Raven's only reply was another deep growl as she nuzzled her face against the girl's neck.

"Something tells me we're getting a little _too_ intimate with your demon." She murmured, pushing on Raven's shoulders, her own shoulders tensing slightly in fear.

Raven hit the floor in front of the sofa with a _thump_ and Jinx moved so she was leaning over her. "Seriously Rae, should we be doing this so soon after you went all mistress-of-the-dark on the shadow guy's butt?"

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and when they opened they had retained the sarcastic glimmer that often accompanied her blank expression. "This better?"

"I don't know, is it?"

"I'm not interested in killing you, Jinx, if that's what you're worrying about. Well, maybe a little bit, considering the strain you're putting on my relationship with my friends but-"

"That's not helping Rae."

"I can't make your mind up for you. I'm not going to lie and say this is completely safe, because I don't know if it is. I don't know what my reaction is going to be – how much control I'll loose of my powers or how my demonic half is going to react."

"Great. So I'm your test subject?"

"You don't have to be. But if you're not interested, can you move? This floor isn't as comfortable as it looks."

"Damn it Raven." Jinx moved, but not to let the empath get up. She roughly and deeply kissed her, hands tracing Raven's ribs, moving to rest on her flank; the only thing keeping her from falling onto the girl was her currently warped sense of balance.

Raven sweeped her leg out, knocking Jinx off her knees so she crashed to the floor, most of her body landing atop the empath. Jinx moved so she held her body inches above Raven's before attacking her lips again.

The Demon Halfling copied Jinx's earlier move and ran her hands up the girl's back under her t-shirt. Jinx felt the back of her bra snap open, and pulled back to glare down at the girl suspiciously.

"Your hands aren't even that far up."

"Oops." She slid her hands higher, delicately tracing where the back of Jinx's bra should have covered, smiling when she girl shivered.

"Since when are you one to make the first move?"

"The more you question it, the sooner it's going to end." Raven warned, still smiling, carefully sliding her hands around to hold Jinx's ribs, her thumbs brushing the edge of her breasts.

Her pink eyes closed, her skin drinking in the warmth of Raven's hands. "Fine, but we can't have you at an advantage." She quickly moved to bite the hollow above the girl's collarbone, happy when she got the reaction she'd wanted, and slipped her hands in the space between the floor and her back, quickly pushing them underneath her top and unfastening Raven's bra. "But you're still at an advantage." She whispered into her skin, fingers catching the hem of Raven's top.

"How so?" Raven replied, keeping her back off the ground so she didn't crush Jinx's hands.

"Your powers are _a lot_ more useful in this situation than my own." She started pulling up on her shirt. "Which is why I'm taking this." Pink energy crackled along the seams and they split, letting Jinx take the top without making Raven move.

"Hey, how do you know I didn't like that to-" Raven cut off with a gasp as Jinx's hand moved under her loose bra and grabbed her breast, squeezing lightly.

"What was that?" Jinx smiled, placing her ear above the empath's lips. She teased the darker flesh of her nipple in between her fingers, stretching it slightly. Raven mumbled something incoherent that sounded more like a moan to Jinx, and she laughed once, moving Raven's hands away from her flank before pulling off the girl's bra. She took a moment to admire the girl's décolleté – big enough to be a feature of their own right, but not too big as to distract her from the rest of the girl, before she leaned down and breathed out, washing the girl's nipple in hot air, grabbing Raven's sides to hold her still as she squirmed.

"How come... you're still dressed?" Raven protested, amazed at how weak her own voice sounded.

"Like I said – it would give you an advantage otherwise. We can't go giving titans advantages." She muttered, before taking Raven's right breast into her mouth, grazing her nipple with her teeth.

Raven hummed, almost purred, as she relaxed against the floor. The meta human could suddenly feel the slight chill of the air, and pulled back, glancing down to see she was suddenly missing her t-shirt. "Exactly the advantage I was talking about. Where did you put my top?"

"Not here." Raven ran an appreciative eye over the girl above her. She suddenly grinned, and Jinx's jeans disappeared in the same fashion, along with her boots – a flash of black. "Matching set. Nice. Dare I say you planned this?"

"Planned for us to be attacked by a shadow dude after you tried to kill me, to then give you the need to come here and set up wards? Nope. I scheme, but even I couldn't pull off something that complicated."

"Especially not you." She murmured, twisting her leg around Jinx's and pulling, while giving her opposite shoulder a quick shove, rolling them over so the empath was on top. "Enough talking." She forced her tongue into Jinx's mouth, effectively cutting short conversation anyway, as she trailed her hands over Jinx's flat stomach and traced the top of her black pants.

The pink haired girl replied by slipping her hands inside Raven's jeans and underwear to grasp her ass, pulling back with a half amused, half shocked expression. "A _thong?_"

"What else do you think I wear under my leotard?"She frowned. "Granny pants? Maybe boxers."

"Now that you mention it..." She smiled. "Loose the shoes and jeans."

"Lazy." Raven taunted, before using her magic to remove them and place them with the pile that was building up in Jinx's room.

She glanced down the girl's body. "Looks like I wasn't the only one who decided to match." She looked for the bra she'd disposed of earlier. "Nope, wait. Slightly different blues."

Raven playfully growled at her, squeezing her hips hard. "Leave my underwear alone." She leaned down to nibble at Jinx's ear.

Jinx wrapped her legs around Raven's waist, pulling her flat out so the weight pushed her into the floor. "Maybe we should take this to my room."

"No." Raven's voice left no room for argument, and Jinx swore she could hear that _other_ side of Raven peaking back out. She grabbed Jinx's arms and stretched them above her head.

"You're not the one... with your back on the floor." She protested weakly as Raven transferred her grip of Jinx's wrists to one hand, and used the other to angle the girls face away.

Raven kissed down the length of her jaw, seemingly ignoring her as the meta-human felt her bra finally disappear, her own chest pressing against Raven's. She let out a small moan and pushed against her, discomfort forgotten.

Jinx felt something cold wrap around her wrists, and her eyes flew open as Raven's right hand traced the girl's stomach again, the left still holding her jaw. "Uh, Raven? Can we not use your powers _that_ much? After having the crap beaten out of me so often, I'm not that comfortable with it."

The empath didn't say anything as she continued to cover the girl's jaw in small kisses, slowly moving down to the skin on her neck, but Jinx found she could move her hands again. She pulled them down and ran her fingertips up and down Raven back. "Besides; we can't have you doing all the work."

She was ignored again as Raven reached Jinx's collarbone and suddenly slid lower, flicking her tongue out over Jinx's nipple. The meta-human purred, reminding the demoness of the animal Jinx's pink eyes copied, and grabbed onto Raven's hair. "Ready to... call me your girlfriend... yet?" She panted

Raven laughed, a small dark sound that swept air over her bare skin, raising goose bumps. She kissed the outer side of Jinx's breast, before gently biting, enticing a moan from Jinx's lips. "I think girlfriend is a bit _tame_ now; don't you?"

"That's cheating." She whispered.

"Hhmm. What are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to make sure you're the one with your back on the damned floor." Jinx replied as she wrestled with the girl, often like they would on the battlefield – minus the lack of clothes – until she was back on top. "And I'm tired of playing around."

She moved her hand down the empath's body and cupped her womanhood through the front of her thong, massaging gently before ripping away the thin piece of material, bringing another growl from Raven's throat. She moved up and captured her lips in another kiss, while her fingers danced over Raven's opening. Raven muttered something into Jinx's mouth, and the meta-human pulled back slightly.

"What?"

"I thought... you said you were... tired of playing around." It was Raven's turn to pant, and Jinx smiled, before sliding her fingers inside the girl, watching her back arch and eyes close with satisfaction. Another light smashed, and Jinx swore she heard the TV screen crack. She was sort of glad they hadn't taken this to her room. These things could easily be replaced within a few more robberies. The stuff in her room couldn't. She'd actually brought them, even if it was with stolen money.

Raven growled and twitched her hips impatiently. "You know, most people don't growl. They moan." Jinx teased. Raven glared at her through mostly-closed eyes, and just like that she knew the human Raven wasn't totally in control any more. Strangely the thought didn't scare her, even when Raven suddenly lifted up to force a kiss.

She moved her fingers to the same rhythm as her tongue, picking up the pace once she was certain she'd found Raven's G-spot. This time it was a moan that left Raven's soft grey lips, but it was lost in the kiss. Jinx slid a third finger into the empath's centre, and felt a warm – but not an off putting – pain shoot through her back as Raven dug her nails in, drawing lines down the flawless pale skin.

Raven started moving her hips in time with Jinx's hand, trying to draw as much out of it as she could while Jinx broke the kiss to lay her lips once more on the girl's neck. She waited a second, before biting down, hard. The demoness climaxed, digging her nails even deeper into Jinx's back as her own arched with ecstasy.

Raven opened her eyes to watch the girl above her for a moment, before smiling. "Remember when I said I _wouldn't _eat you?"

"Urgm... yeah?"

"I lied." She grinned, flipping Jinx over before she had time to react, and lightly kissing her lips before moving down to her stomach, sliding Jinx's knickers down with her hands and tossing them to the side. Jinx's breath caught in her throat as she leaned on her elbows in order to look down at her lover, who paused long enough to give her a dark smile before slowly spreading the girl's legs apart, throwing one over each shoulder.

"Are you sure you were a virgin?" Jinx managed to ask, voice shaking with anticipation.

"Certain." She slid her hands under Jinx, stopping almost at her hips, and slowly pulled the girl towards her before kissing the upper part of her thigh, teasing the skin with her teeth before repeating it on the other side, this time even closer to Jinx's sex.

"Damn it Raven." She muttered, and Raven flicked her eyes up to see Jinx had thrown her head back.

She smiled to herself before brushing her lips against her, proceeding to kiss her as deeply as she had Jinx's mouth moments before.

* * *

><p>Raven stood slowly, stretching out. Jinx had been right, the floor hadn't been the most comfortable of surfaces to use, but she didn't regret anything.<p>

"Where are you going?" Jinx frowned up at her.

"To take a shower. Then I'm going to set up those wards."

"You're not going to disappear in some guilty fit?" Jinx asked cautiously, pulling herself into a sitting position. "Convince yourself this was the worst thing you could do?"

"You seem to be doing that for me." The empath shrugged, moving over to pick up her bra. "Do you need me to tell _you_ to chill? Sorry about the TV, by the way. Actually, my demon feel's happier. My powers should be easy to control for at least the rest of the day."

"It should bloody feel happy." Jinx muttered. "It scared me half to death."

"Now that's an exaggeration." Raven's voice slipped back into its usual monotone.

"Where did you dump all the clothes?"

"Your room." She replied, before disappearing into a portal.

She shrugged at the suddenly empty room and picked up her pants and Raven's broken clothes, chucking the latter into the trash before walking down to her room, pausing once inside as she listened to the shower, temped to join the Demon Halfling. Instead, she picked up the robe that was hung over the bottom of her bed and slipped it one before making her way back to the kitchen. She could shower while Raven set up the wards. At least it would give her something to do. She wouldn't be there to keep distracting the sorceress neither.

Setting the kettle to boil and pulling to mugs, she moved over to the computer, typing in her password before accessing the buildings security tapes, starting with the ones of her walking naked down the corridors. The last thing she needed was Gizmo finding these. Or Mammoth, for that matter. Raven suddenly appeared beside her as she opened the file for the one in the current room, her hair still dripping water.

She glanced at the girl stood beside her, "Sure, just help yourself to my clothes."

"You ruined my top." Raven shrugged, before frowning, still looking at the screen. "Do I really look that bad?"

Jinx deleted the file, before turning to Raven and kissing her on the nose. "You look beautiful. How do you like your tea?"

"I'm not fussed." She watched Jinx move over to the joint kitchen. "I should probably get back to the tower after I've fixed up the wards. Robin _did_ give us the day off, but it's not like me to actually spend the whole day away from the tower. Starfire guessed I'm dating, Cyborg noticed my 'odd' behaviour, and Robin's _very_ suspicious at the moment. At this rate even Beast Boy will notice something's up." She smiled to herself.

"That's fine. I guess." Jinx replied. "At least now you can tell them you have a last ditch attempt at stopping the shadow guy." She walked back towards Raven, holding two mugs. "You know, if this is gonna happen after every time you try to kill me, I'm gonna have to find more ways to piss you off. Oh, and you left some nasty marks in my back, if you don't mind."

"Don't mind what?" She asked innocently, taking a sip from the mug Jinx passed her. "Mmm, this is nice."

"Don't mind using your nifty healing energy and getting rid of them before they scar."

"Maybe I don't want to."

"Oh, come on. First you don't warn me that I could be seeing a lot of your other side while we're bangin', and now you're telling me you like to mark your territory too?"

Raven pulled a face. "_Banging?_ Crude Jinx; very crude."

"You're avoiding the question."

"And you're killing the English language."

"Fine. Don't heal me. But next time I'm going to damn well make sure I give you something that'll scar."

"Be my guest." She smiled. "If I haven't fulfilled your prophecy, and convinced myself never to have _sex_ with you again."

"Bitch." She muttered, moving off towards the corridor leading to her room. "If you wanna set up your wards without me being around to distract you, I'd do it now. I'm grabbing a shower."

Raven shrugged, taking another sip of her tea, before moving over to where the candles still stood – though no longer lit, placing her cup on the ground before she moved into the lotus position and levitated herself off the ground, beginning the chant.

* * *

><p>"That should keep everyone out but me. Me being the exception since it's my magic, made to recognise me. Just... if you go out, stay to populated areas. If you're going to be on your own for even a length of street, call me and I'll teleport over instantly – unless I'm in the middle of a battle, in which case you'll just have to keep your butt inside until I'm free."<p>

Jinx sighed, "I hate being under house arrest. It's like being in prison, and only slightly less boring. You'll visit right?"

Raven arched her brow. "Sure, if you want."

"I do want."

"I need to get back. Just don't hesitate to call, even if you _think_ someone's in the building. I don't want you taking any chances."

She pulled the phone she'd been using out of her pocket and waved it at Raven. "I'll be keeping it near me at all times." She smiled, moving forward to kiss her. "You're the one going after the thing. You make sure you're safe."

"Unlike you, at least I now know I can fight back." She murmured. Raven pulled back, apprehensively eyeing the girl for a moment.

"Shoo! You already said the titans are guessin' what you're up to. Disappear already." She waved her hands in Raven's general direction. The empath raised her eyebrow before morphing into her soul self and rising up and into the ceiling.

Jinx smiled for a moment, before muttering something under her breath and turning round, scanning the room for something to do.

* * *

><p>After changing into her costume, the high neck of which gratefully hid the many hickeys she had blooming out on her pale skin, she made her way into the common room, surprised to find everyone but Cyborg.<p>

"Hello, friend Raven!" Starfire smiled the first to notice her presence. "I trust you have a most enjoyable day."

"You could say that." She muttered dryly, "Where's Cyborg?"

"Still in the garage, working on the T-Car." Beast Boy answered from the sofa, where he was playing against Robin on a racing game. "He's been down there almost all day."

"I'll fetch him them. I have some news regarding our killer."

"Raven, I thought I told everyone to take the day off." Robin frowned, looking over the back of the sofa.

"Trust me, I did. The killer doesn't understand the concept 'day off', however."

"You were attacked?" Starfire gasped.

"Why didn't you call for backup?" Robin frowned.

"Because I didn't need it. And... well, I'll explain once Cyborg's here."

* * *

><p>Uh, first off, I'm British, so if I say pants, most of the time I'm talking about underwear (panties, knickers, whatever floats your boat.) The word should be used in context, so I'm sure you got that fine.<p>

Secondly, I wanted this to be descriptive but tasteful and show the girls' relationship – not just throw them into random, heated sex. Did I do that right? Since this is my **first** lemon, I would be very glad for feedback telling me how I did – what I could do to improve.

Heh, this is my longest chapter yet. Oops. I was wondering why it was taking me so long to write it.

As for my few friends who read this... don't hate me, yeah? My mind isn't _that_ dirty. Honest ^_^

Oh, and one last thing – I have a friend over tomorrow, so I won't be posting for a day or two. Happy reading :')


	27. Say no more

**Concolor44: **Woo-Hoo! Lemony goodness! Lemon chiffon! Lemon meringue pie!

Actually, kid, that wouldn't have been bad for your TWELFTH lemon, much less your first. Very nice. Very ... affecting. And I love how Raven 'marked her territory' by not healing Jinx. Of course, she's a metahuman and heals pretty quickly, so it may not scar anyhow.  
>Man. Once they made up their minds, they just forged ahead, didn't they? Damn the torpedoes and all that. Good for them. And just because Raven knew how to make Jinx feel REALLY GOOD doesn't mean she couldn't be a virgin. She has done extensive reading. Frankly, one could do worse (in preparing for the eventual loss of one's virginity) than read a bunch of the better lemons here on FFnet, and take notes. Very instructive, they are.<br>Don't worry, girl. You did great. Glad you mentioned the G-spot. That really is NOT a myth, and rubbing it the right way really DOES contribute markedly to climax. In multiples.

_Ahh, we British aren't so hung up on sex. What's the age limit in the US? 18 in most states, isn't it? We're legal at 16, so I wasn't writing totally blind *cough* lol and people wonder why Britain has so many teenage pregnancies. Still, putting it into words isn't the easiest thing to do, and I'm glad to hear I apparently did well! (heh, i knew my preference would come in handy at some point) as for the scarring, well, maybe Jinx will completely heal. Raven might not like that though. Heh. And the whole thing after they'd made their mind up... teenagers + hormones + emotionally unstable demon+ thief with little regard for the law + alone time is just asking for it, let's not lie. :')_

**Spikesagitta:***waggle eyebrows* Nice lemoney bits ^^  
>I think you did the lemon scene just fine, and are you sure this is your first lemon scene..? Cos it sure doesn't feel like it :P<p>

_Heh, I'm sure this is my first written lemon scene. And it took ages to write xD Thank you :)_

**Dricstar:** I have to say, in the name of Glenn Qagmire, "Oh right!"  
>The way you described the scene between Raven nd Jinx (you know which I mean) was very well written. I was half expecting when Raven went back to the tower that Beast Boy would be able to smell Jinx on her or something. Maybe that's something to concider, I don't know. But well done on this chapter. Your quality of writing is forever getting better :)<p>

_Thank you, and I did actually consider it, but I've decided to keep BB's senses (minus his hearing) to normal human level outside his animal forms. _

**Darkshadow-lord:** Great Chapter! I look forward to reading the next chapter! Yeah I kinda  
>figured you were British when you wrote knickers!<p>

_Haha, yeah. It is kinda a giveaway huh? Good old British language. xD _

_**All your reviews brought a smile to my face :)**_

* * *

><p>After bringing Cyborg into the room, she moved over to the kitchen, making her team wait while she found some left over pizza to eat. She hadn't had anything since lunch, and she realised she was famished.<p>

"Alright Raven, care to explain why you didn't call for back up when you were attacked?" Robin asked impatiently after she'd eaten one slice and moved to pick up another.

"What?" Cyborg glanced at Robin, then Raven, having missed the earlier conversation. "Attacked by who?"

"Our killer." Raven shrugged, moving to sit on the bar stool and swinging round so she was facing the group gathered around the back of the sofa. "Before, my answer would have been simple. You guys being there wouldn't have made a difference." Robin opened his mouth to argue, but she held up a hand, warning him to be silent with a quick glare. "However, I lost control, and was surprised to find my soul self can attack him when my demonic half has at least partial control. He seemed to solidify permanently while my soul self was touching him. Of course as soon as I let go, he was back to his normal form, and slipped away."

"So we have a way to fight him?" Beast Boy asked. "You can hold him for us while we attack?" He pretty much echoed Jinx's earlier words.

Robin frowned, and Raven smiled at him, knowing the boy wonder had picked up it wouldn't be as easy as that. "Remember when I sort of lost it on Doctor Light? It's going to be like that. My demon isn't a team player, and if I leave her too much room, she'll eventually take over completely."

"Meaning?" Cyborg frowned.

"You'd have to kill me. And quickly."

"Then we shall find another way to attack this creature." Starfire said confidently.

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to go all martyr and risk losing myself in order to stop him until it really does become necessary." Raven shook her head with a small smile. "I've grown quite attached to what humanity I have. Whatever he wants, I'm certain he needs me alive for. Of course as far as he's concerned everyone else is disposable. But, at least it gives us a fall back if needs be."

"How long ago was the attack?" Robin frowned.

"Probably after two sometime. Why?"

"Have you meditated since?"

"No. I mean, not after locking her back up."

"Because you're acting... strange." He commented, obviously not knowing what other word to use. "Usually you'd be... well, getting as panicked as you get by this point."

"If anything, Robin, we're in a slightly better situation than we were before." She arched her brow at their leader. "It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing. Obviously we're still going to try and figure out _what_ he is, and what he's planning, not to mention we still have all those missing people to find. I'm going to go meditate – since Robin thinks I need to – and after that I'll catch up on some reading, and see if I can figure out why my demonic self can touch this creature when no one else can. I'll be on the roof."

"Raven, what exactly did you do all day, and where were you when the Shadow thing attacked you? I mean, I went to check on you twice, once at lunch, and again about two hours ago, but you weren't anywhere in the tower."

"I went to my favourite depressing cafe for lunch, before visiting the book store to buy a book on wards, and then went to the library." She arched her brow, impressing herself with how easily the lie had slipped out, and then remembering that it probably wasn't a good thing. "I was attacked when I used the alley I often use as a short cut between the bookstore and the library. Can I go now?"

"Yeah." Robin nodded, brows still creased into a frown.

The empath quickly stood, walking out the room without another comment.

"Why does it feel like she's gone back to hiding everything from us again?" The Boy Wonder sighed, concerned for Raven as he was irritated.

"Yeah, I thought she got past the whole mystery girl routine." Beast Boy nodded.

"She is doing most well, friends." Starfire smiled at the boy's reactions. "It is just information currently for the girl talk only, so I cannot share."

"Say no more." Cyborg raised his hands as he walked into kitchen, peering into the fridge and muttering under her breath. "Damn girl ate all the leftover pizza. Sandwich it is then."

"You sure she's okay Star?"

"I am most certain."

"Yo man, she said the magic words; just drop it. You do _not_ wanna get involved with girl talk. Ever." Cyborg warned Robin.

"The dude's right. Least we know she's okay." Beast Boy nodded, before leaning over the back of the sofa to look at his best friend. "I challenge you to a game station duel! You've been neglecting the amazingness that is video games all day!"

"I had to work on my baby!" Cyborg defended himself. "Her engine needed tuning, not to mention she needed cleaning; did you not _see_ that mud on her bumper?"

Robin sighed, as Starfire giggled. "I shall do the checking on Raven." She waved at them before turning round and flying out the door.

All the boys shared a glance, before Beast Boy spun round to face the TV. "Girls are so confusing. Ooh wait! I got it!" He looked from Cyborg, to Robin, and back. "What if Raven's got a boyfriend? That would explain why she keeps disappearing!"

Cyborg broke out into a smile, while Robin frowned at the changeling. "Raven, with a boyfriend? Beast Boy, are you sure you haven't been watching too much TV?"

"It makes sense!" He protested. "Starfire said it was 'girl talk', and she's obvious in a better mood."

"Somehow I just don't see Raven dating a civilian."

"Maybe it's that goth boy she sometimes hangs out with." Cyborg suggested. "Or for all we know it _could_ be another titan. I mean, the girl can teleport. Long distance relationships aren't exactly an issue for her."

"Surely she'd tell us if it was another titan." Robin frowned.

"Not that girl. She could have been dating 'im for a year for all we know. The only reason we heard about that bastard Malchior was because BB spied on her."

"Who would she date out of the titans?" Robin frowned, still trying to make sense of it.

"Herald."

"Cy, you can't say that just because he wears a cape-thingy too. I say Jericho. She doesn't like loud people and hey, he's mute."

"I know she's a polyglot, but does she know sign language?"

"I don't think so." Robin shook his head, before his face froze in a mask of horror. "I can't believe we're actually discussing this!"

"Oh man! Quick, zombie game!" The three boys lunged forward off the sofa to pick up game controllers.

"Put it on 'undead' difficulty." Beast Boy told the robotic teen.

"Already done."

"Right, we're using baseball bats only." Robin ordered.

* * *

><p>Starfire stepped onto the roof, quietly approaching Raven who was sat on the edge of the tower, obviously not meditating. "Friend?"<p>

Raven glanced round, and smiled at the alien. "What's wrong Starfire?"

"Oh, nothing is of the wrong. I came to do the 'checking of you'. The boys are quite convinced you are not okay."

"I'm fine." She shook her head, "Honestly. The only thing that's bothering me is our killer, and that we only have one way of attacking him."

"We shall find something else, do not worry. Did you really do the shopping? You could have asked me, if you wanted company."

She laughed shortly. "Don't worry Star, I had company."

"You were out with your girlfriend?" She asked excitedly, turning away from the quickly darkening sky and looking at Raven. "Wait, does that mean she was there during the attack? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Mostly. Well, our killer threatened to kill her, but I've warded her home with the same spells I have round the tower. I might be disappearing frequently – I've told her not to go anywhere on her own – do you think... you could cover for me with the guys?" She hated asking Starfire to help her lie to the team – especially since she wasn't planning on telling her the whole story, but found comfort in the fact someone's happiness always came above anything else for the tamerainian, and that when she'd told her she was happy for Raven no matter who it was she was dating, the alien meant it.

"I shall prepare the excuses for any sudden absences of yours from the tower." Starfire nodded. "If she has become a target, then she must be protected. But I say again, friend, Robin would understand the situation-"

"Trust me Star, but like I told you earlier, he won't. At all."

"Friend, while I usually trust your judgement, I know that you struggle with the trusting yourself. I fail to see what Robin would be un-happy about?"

_Oh, I don't know. That I'm Jinx's lover? Damn that sounds weird._ "Maybe he wouldn't." Raven nodded. "And we'll probably find out what his reaction is at some point. Just... not yet. Okay?"

Starfire nodded. "Do not worry. Your secret is safe with me, and I shall help cover for you going to help her – whoever she is."

* * *

><p>Ahh it's been a while since my last update huh? (a while for me, anyhow)<p>

I like Zombie games. I also don't like talking about who people like. Zombie games help you feel like a man again. Only I never was a dude. Ooops. (quick, need to kill zombies). Many thanks for the lovely reviews.


	28. Humiliating

Walking the dog is lovely for inspiration, and letting your imagination come up with stuff. Cleaning out and washing down the fridge? Not so much.

* * *

><p><strong>Concolor44: <strong>EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! It's the dreaded 'girl talk'. That's a really great 'out'  
>for what Raven needs to do. It's every bit as effective as using 'female plumbing' issues to change the subject or get some privacy from the guys.<br>Starfire is a right gem, isn't she? Always so ready to see the best in people and hope for the best outcomes. I hope she's right. but I'm very much afraid that Raven's assessment of Robin's reaction is spot-on.  
>This story kicks **. Apodictically.<p>

'_Girl talk' = run for the hills. And star is; so optimistic you can't help feeling just a little bit better. But everyone knows how Robin gets around the bad guys. Just... one thing. Where the hell do you get these words from! I had to Google apodictically xD But hey, increased vocabulary = win._

**LilithRyoka: **_Your reviews are just getting longer xD Yeah I have a serious memory problems, but it runs in the family haha. Hmm, I'm glad the run in with our killer worked for you. I spend ages trying to write it right! Same with the whole demonic Raven being able to kick ass. Haha it's nice to hear your thoughts on the topic! After all, it lets me know what the story is saying to you. As for my lemon... well, I'm glad you enjoyed. It's nice to know my first scene on the topic worked – well. Heh, the female body is one thing I do know *cough* but yes, I tend to dislike lemon scenes if they 1) obviously don't know what they are writing. 2) include vulgar language about the anatomy that makes it sound like a cheap porno, so to speak. With BB, I was kinda thinking it might speed up the plot a little faster than what I had in mind. Truly, usually I include all of his heightened senses. Yes I am British xD Pretty countryside, and I love my home city, but on the whole, the country isn't that nice lol. I'm going for underground facility, but I'm sure that'll be mentioned later on. After all, in the episode lightspeed, it did look pretty big, and somewhat resemble the titans tower. Zombies are good for every situation :P But yes, I mean I'm female and hate the idea of girl talk – any girl talk really, so in my imagination, guys are either totally confused about it, or fear it. Haha technically it is – after all, he does say in the cartoon that it's hooked up to his own systems ;) Oooh the things you can do toRobin! Obviously I'm not gonna tell you which I'm going for but! (can't hold in my excitement!) Glad to know my character are still working for you. It is sort of difficult to get the right balance. And I await that jar of cookies. And those deathly written letters. I like a good threat ;)_

**Darkshadow-lord:**Nice chapter! Looking forward to reading the next! Mm I wonder what Starfire would do when she finds out that it's Jinx that Raven is seeing?

_To be honest, I don't think it's Star's reaction she needs to worry about xD_

**Spikesagitta:** I think I spotted a mistake  
>=Oh, I don't know. That I'm Jinx's lover? Damn that sounds weird. "Maybe he<br>wouldn't." Jinx nodded.=  
>I think you meant to say "Raven" nodded. Or maybe "Starfire" instead of Jinx.<br>Anyway, you love zombie games? Awesome! Please tell me you have a PS3 and plan  
>to get dead island! Cos I heard you can co-op that with other players for story mod.<p>

_Said mistake is now corrected, it should have said Raven, but I had Jinx on the brain xD_

_As for Zombies...*fangirl squeal* Yes, I have PS3, yes I was looking at dead island. It's gonna have to be a birthday or Christmas buy though cause 1) I'm a poor teenager 2)when we do buy games randomly, the deal is my Dad's gotta want to play on them too. So mostly we have war games. Or Tomb Raider *grin* but he actually agreed on getting Dead Nation. And he's enjoying it as much as me, so maybe, it might be a possibility :) _

**Umbra8191: **great chapter i can't wait for the next update.

_Why, thank you :)_

* * *

><p>It wasn't unusual for Robin to be the first one to be found in the common room, especially when there was something that needed his attention, so Raven, usually the first awake in order to fit in meditation, wasn't surprised to find him sat at the tower's main computer. He had a city map open, and seemed to be marking co-ordinates on it. Raven recognised it as being the first step into finding a pattern. She didn't understand why he was bothering – their killer was after Raven. They all knew that now. Shrugging, she made her way to the kitchen, switching the kettle on.<p>

"So. Where were you yesterday?"

Raven jumped slightly, almost chocking on her breath. "_What_?"

"Yesterday. I know the answer you gave us wasn't the truth. Where were you?"

"Does it matter?" She turned back to the kettle, grabbing a cup and pouring the boiling water.

"Yes. I need to know where you were attacked."

"I told you-"

"Raven, you aren't Beast Boy, so can you stop playing games?" He spun round on his chair to face her, and Raven could feel his eyes digging into her back. "On a personal note, I don't really care what you were doing, but you of all people should be above lying when it involves a case."

She got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she tried to ignore it as best as she could. "We know our killer is after me. Why are you mapping out the locations we've seen him at? It won't tell us anything."

"We don't have enough information not to take this at every angle we have. We don't care if you're dating someone - or who you're dating; and you don't need to tell us, just tell me where you were when you were attacked."

She frowned. "How... who told you?"

"What? No one. We guessed."

She sighed, happy Robin apparently wasn't going to dig any further into her business, and picked up her cup of tea before walking over to the computer and typing in co-ordinates. A red dot appeared over the alleyway next to Jump City's small theme park, and Robin raised his brow. "You were at the theme park?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to ask." Raven pointed out.

Robin reluctantly nodded, and Raven stepped back. "Any other attacks you've failed to mention?"

"No."

"Good. Just... one more thing. You do realise that whoever you are dating is going to possibly be in danger, right?"

"I'm not stupid Robin. I've already sorted that. When you said 'we know'?

"I meant me, Cyborg and Beast Boy." Robin nodded.

"Oh... right."

"I think I've got an idea on how to lure this thing out... only it endangers you. So I wanted to pass it through you first."

Raven sat on the sofa, taking a sip of her drink. "Yes?"

"As you pointed out, it seems very interested in you. We can't start the interviews until tomorrow – the police have found a member of the church you mentioned, a few members in fact, just not in this state. As for the plan... If we put you somewhere secluded – empty – and we took stationary points under cover, he's bound to show up, right?"

Raven shrugged. "Regardless, that still leaves only me who can attack, and I don't exactly want to call upon my demon again so soon."

"Wait, if you were attack then... they saw your demonic side?" Robin's eyes widened dramatically. "You didn't attack them did you?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to ask." She muttered dryly. "But yes, they did. And no, they didn't run screaming. Now, about this plan of yours..?"

"Raven, if the media heard about this-"

"Please, you think I haven't already thought about that. I know exactly what would happen. I'd probably be hunted down. However, that is not about to happen. I didn't exactly have a choice – I didn't choose to lose control. And they are above selling me out like that."

"Raven-"

"Robin I do not need the lecture. Especially not about _myself_. Just be happy it happened out of sight from other people, and that I regained control."

He forced a smile. "Sorry Raven. I know, I just worry."

"A little too much. So, you want to stick me in some random alley and wait for me to come under attack?"

"Only if that's okay with you. Cyborg thinks he's found something that could hurt the creature."

"Really? And what would that be?"

"Cyborg's theory is that the killer's body may be made up of electromagnetic fields. If we added more electricity to him, he should solidify, letting us attack him."

Raven let out a deep breath as she ran the idea through in her head. "You did more research on ghosts and shadow men, didn't you? It's a plausible explanation. If that is what we're dealing with. I guess... it's worth a shot. And if it doesn't work?"

"We make a run for it." Robin grinned. "Actually, I don't know what we'd do. I suppose it depended on what the killer did."

"Are you sure you don't want to contact Batman. It is possible the Justice League may have come across something like this before."

"I'm sure I don't." Robin nodded. "Anyway, Batman's not totally pleased you're on the team. And he'd definitely have something to say about your boyfriend."

"Girlfriend."

"What?"

Raven arched her brow. "I never, at any point, said I was seeing a guy."

"Urm... right. I guess not." He cleared his throat, turning back round to look at his map. Raven was amused at how awkward the silence had suddenly become on his part.

The doors opened behind them and the empath glanced behind her to see Cyborg. "Morin' Rae, Robin." He headed straight for the fridge, stomach growling. "Rob told you about my idea?"

"The electromagnetic field? Yes, he has."

"Think it'll work?"

"I have no idea Cyborg."

"What's those tentacle thingys made of that come off you when you're in demon mode?" He pulled waffle ingredients out from the fridge, pausing to glance at her.

"Urm.. dark energy. That is... well..." She sighed, frowning. "I'm not too sure how to explain it. It's still the same thing I use in this form. It does have an electromagnetic field though – as all portals do."

"It's not a portal all the time."

"But it has the potential to be."

"So it could work?" Cyborg clarified.

"It could. I hope it does."

The alarm sounded, and those up all cringed. Luckily Robin was close enough to quickly turn it off, before looking for the disturbance. Raven and Cyborg walked over to read over their leader's shoulder, after Cyborg put away the start of his breakfast.

"Dudes – not cool." Beast Boy grumbled as he walked into the room, followed by Starfire, who flew over the changeling's head, obviously not disgruntled by the loud wake-up call.

"Drop it Beast Boy." Robin wasn't looking at the map of Jump, or at any security cameras. He was trying to read a message from the police – one that had come through on urgent.

Raven sighed heavily, having finished reading first. "Why is he still doing this? He's already got his point across."

"What?" Beast Boy asked, not bothering to read the email himself.

"The police need us; down by the docks again."

"Dude, you mean there's another body?"

"Yeah. Apparently a fisherman stumbled across this one pretty early. The small bit they have told us is that the body's still warm." Robin told them unhappily.

"Then we should make with the haste, no? He could still be there."

"Raven?" Robin turned to look at the empath. That one word was enough, and she stretched out her soul self to cover all of her team mates before teleporting to the docks.

* * *

><p>It was easy to see where the body was. One of the docs was taped off, and a number of police cars sat round the premises. The titans started to head in that direction, but Robin called them back. "We can look at the body in a minute. It's our job to catch this guy; Beast Boy, see if he's still here."<p>

The changeling saluted his leader, before morphing into a blood hound again. He went through the same process as before, pushing aside the scents he was already familiar with, when something different hit him. It was a scent he recognised, and it wasn't exactly feint but it was definitely out of place. He followed it, slightly surprised when a hand landed on his forehead and pushed him away.

"Beast Boy, what the _hell_ are you doing?"

He looked up, realising how close he was to Raven and backed up a bit, before walking round her. _She must be standing in the way. But seriously, what would she be doing down here? It couldn't have been more than a few days ago_.

He paused, confused when the scent didn't continue past Raven. He morphed back into his human form, his confusion now evident. "When did you get into a fight with Jinx?"

She tensed, her eyes widening slightly as she became a shade paler. "Urm..." She bit her lower lip, not being able to think past her panic. "That is..."

Robin's face slowly started to resemble a beetroot. "We'll talk about this when we get back to the tower." If looks could kill...

Nearby, the cover flew off a manhole as Raven struggled to keep in control of her emotions.

"What? Wait, you don't mean..? Girl, tell me you didn't." Cyborg asked, shocked.

"I said, we'll talk about this later. Beast Boy, find our killer."

The changeling quickly morphed, wincing. _Why hadn't I just kept my damn mouth shut for once?_ He sent Raven an apologetic look, before moving away from her and trying to see if he could pick up the scent of their killer.

After about ten minutes of searching and awkward silences, Beast Boy morphed back and shook his head. "Nothing." _Damn. Wish I'd found something. Maybe then Robin wouldn't shoot daggers at me_.

"Maybe the body will tell us something more." Starfire suggested.

Robin started walking – or marching - in the direction of the police tape, and Starfire offered Raven a small smile, while Beast Boy moved up to her. "Sorry dude. If I'd have known..."

She gave him an odd look. _He's not mad?_ "He was bound to find out at some point. Come on. If we keep him waiting he's only going to get angrier.

* * *

><p>"Nothing." He grumbled, and Raven moved past him. She could feel the anger radiating off him, and knew if anything it would make him blind. Not that she was doing so well herself, but she was able to keep her head on the job when needed.<p>

"There's an arrow." She pointed to the flesh of the woman's chest.

Unlike the others, this one had been stripped bare. There was something awfully humiliating about it, and the empath was itching to cover her up. The arrow was made from a number of scratches on the woman's skin, and roughly done. Raven knew why Robin had missed them, because at a glance it didn't look like an arrow, more like she'd been trying to claw something off her.

"Right. Do you want to see what we found over there?"

Raven looked up to find Officer Carlton. "Sure."

He led her and Robin over to the other side of the building and behind a stack of crates. Someone had written into the wall with scratches. It was hard to read, and Robin was the first one to pull back, confusion covering his anger for the time being. "That's not even English."

"No." Raven agreed. "It's an incantation. I recognise it, but I can't tell you exactly what it is without checking my books. Officer, do you have something I could write on?"

He passed Raven his note book and a pen, and she quickly took down the writing on the wall, before ripping off the sheet of paper. "Don't think you could write us a copy? I don't even know what half of those letters are meant to be." The empath smiled slightly as she wrote down the incantation again.

"Be careful who sees this, at least until I've figured out what it does." She passed him his notebook back. "Well, he obviously wants us to know what he's up to.

"Unless he's using a red herring." Robin muttered. "_Lying_ to us."

"It's a possibility." Raven nodded, resisting the urge to scream at her leader to keep focused on the task in front of him.

"Have you got anything more on the killer?" Carlton asked Robin, but it was Raven who answered.

"We have, actually. Well, we know one was of stopping him at least."

"Good. It's about time we had something. The media aren't being kind to us. Are you available tomorrow for those interviews?"

"Unless we find ourselves fighting someone – or something – yes."

"My men are rounding up a few more as we speak. We can't seem to find Brother Blood though. He's meant to be their leader or something."

"That he is." Raven nodded. "No matter. Hopefully we can get the information from the people you've found."

"We'll get back and start figuring out what this... incantation is for. Unless there's anything else?" Robin glanced at Carlton.

"No; we'll send you the forensic report when it's written."

"Good." Throwing a hard glance at Raven, he walked back towards where they'd left the other titans.

Raven offered the police officer a shaky smile before following her leader, dreading what she knew was to come when they got back to the tower.

* * *

><p>A storm started while I was writing the second half. I thought it was oddly appropriate.<p>

I'm actually not too happy with this chapter, but I thought it was what needed to come next, naturally. I don't even know what was wrong with it... just was something was. It's the most irritating feeling ever.

R&R as always :)


	29. Reprimanded

OMG! Like, over 100 reviews! Thanks guys! Can't really believe it haha.

* * *

><p><strong>Umbra8191: <strong>great chapter i can't wait for the next update.

_Heh, thanks :)_

**Eagle wolf05**_** :**_I don't usually review intill a story is complet because I have limited Internet time but I love yours so much that I had to. I love that raven not as weak as some stories portray her most people seem to forget that raven is half demon and can be a bad ** when she wants to I think that you find a good balance for her not to demonic but it's still there. I think in chapter 28  
>when beast boy is trying to find the killers scent after following jinx scent he would have be able to tell that they had had sex recently and not said any thing about it so he didnt get raven in trouble with robin. the team finding out work but I think that it would have be better if it happen later in the story and in a more dramatic way other then that it's a great story<p>

_then I thank you for the early review. It is more than welcome :)Hmm, yes, Raven in anything but weak, and to portray her otherwise is betraying her character. But, she is still half human. As for the opinion of Chapter 28, all I can point out is that it was a few days later, and showers are wonderful things. Maybe he would have, I'm not sure. And maybe it was a little soon; maybe thats why something was bugging me. However, I am planning to reach the finaly (? god my spelling is awful) soon regarding our killer. _

_Again, thankyou for the review, and I'm glad you enjoyed!_

**Concolor44: **I didn't feel one, solitary THING wrong with the chapter. Gar's reaction was really good. Left me feeling ... content? Pleased? Certainly in a "You go, Gar!" frame of mind. Cyborg? Eh. He'll come around. I'm glad you had him pick up on the situation instantly; that's in line with his character.  
>Robin, however, is going to blow a gasket or three. Can I watch? [evil grin]<p>

_Ahh I'm glad you liked! And as much as BB fools around and teases Rae, I see him as too much of a good guy to purposely get her in trouble with Robin – especially about something like that! Yeah, I think Cy's just shocked. Don't blame him. And heh, Robin and his temper. _

**Spikesagitta: **Well...that wasn't how I expected the rest of them to find out about Jinx that way. But I guess it make sense, only Beast Boy could smell that :P Robin look like he's going to blow up too. At least that's funny :P I mean, he's mad at Raven for keeping secrets? Didn't he like pretend to be Red X to get close to Slade too?

_Haha really? What did you expect? Heh Robin is known for being a little hypocrite when his temper grabs at him, no?_

* * *

><p>"So Raven, care to explain why you smell like a villain we haven't fought in almost over a week? I know how Beast Boy's sense of smell works. That means you've seen Jinx within the past few days!"<p>

They were in the common room, Raven sat on the sofa, with Starfire one side of her and Beast Boy and Cyborg the other. Robin was stood in front of them, pacing as his face gradually became more and more red.

"You wouldn't know how Beast Boy's sense of smell truly works without first experiencing it." Raven muttered as she looked at anything but her team-mates.

"_Fine_. Beast Boy, how old was the scent on Raven?"

"Dude, what? Don't bring me into this!"

"'Bring you into this'? You are already 'into this'; the whole team is, since Raven decided to _lie_ repeatedly to us about a known _super villain_."

Raven flinched, and was slightly surprised when Cyborg rushed to her defence. He hadn't sounded too happy in the alley. "Chill man; let's just... look at this slowly. I'm sure Rae has a good explanation. Besides, she's not the first to keep secrets from the team."

" Actually-" Cyborg warned Raven quiet with a glance as she tried to remind them about the whole Trigon business. He was right; right now that wouldn't help her one bit.

"Well then, Raven. Do you have an excuse?"

"No." She muttered after a moment's pause.

"So what were you doing with her?"

"Umm, Robin?" Beast Boy put his hand up but was ignored.

"Helping them with their robberies or-"

Raven looked up then. Locking furious eyes with his. "Funny, I thought working for the criminals was _your_ side occupation."

She wouldn't have believed Robin could get any angrier, and while his face seemed to have reached its colour limit, she could feel the wall of emotion coming off him strengthen somewhat. "Only because I thought it was the right thing to do for the team! I'm not saying I wasn't wrong, but apparently you don't even have that alibi. _What were you doing with her_?"

"You're the great detective Robin. It's not that hard to guess."

Cyborg coughed, and they looked at him. "Don't wanna grass you up Rae but... it is pretty obvious." He smirked, despite all the tension and anger. "Who'd have known you bent that way?"

"That... girlfriend you told me about?" Robin seemed to struggle to form his words.

"They are most happy together." Starfire shyly interrupted. "And it does not look as though Jinx has been trying the trap; it has been a few months now, am I correct Raven?"

"Of course she's planning a trap!" Robin shouted, and Raven didn't bother telling him she _knew _Jinx had. "Raven, do I even have to remind you about Malchior?"

"She's not like that!" Raven defended her lover quickly.

"Of course she is! She's a super villain!"

"I _know_ what she is! I'm not a child anymore! And I'm not some ignorant fool completely unaware of the wider emotional spectrum as I was then. Like hell I'm not going to fall into the same trap twice."

"I'm with Rae on this." Cyborg spoke up. "Jinx is many things, but she aint that spiteful, and she aint that patient. This isn't gonna be some long time plan kinda thing - and if it was she would have given up on it already."

"And how would you know?" Robin challenged.

"Working undercover that time at Hive Academy, remember?" Cyborg rolled his human eye.

"Fine." Robin hissed. "But you're going to stop seeing her. Starting from now, and that includes having another team member with you when you leave the tower."

"_What?_" She shouted, standing up as something blew up in the kitchen. "The hell I am."

"This is not a discussion."

"I am _not_ throwing away the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. She's accepted me – demon and all, and that's a long sight better than what you've done."

"Raven, we do accept you." Starfire said quietly from behind her. "You are our friend, and we love you very much."

Raven turned round to look at the alien. "Starfire-"

"_She_ probably told you that, didn't she?" Robin asked, a triumphed look on his face, as though he'd proven something.

"The truth is even now you struggle to accept I'm half demon. I know you do, simply from how carefully you tread around the topic."

"Enough." Robin shook his head. "You're going to stop seeing her. And you are going to be under watch for the next few weeks. You are also banned from any mission involving the Hive Five."

She turned back to Robin, a defiant expression on her face. "And you think _you_ can stop me?" She forced a laugh. "And I thought Beast Boy was meant to be the funny one."

She wrapped herself up in her soul self and teleported to her room, turning off her communicator and the locator signal off the broach on her cape before jumping through the lines of interdimensional travel again.

* * *

><p>Everyone's gaze turned to Robin, and he was ultimately surprised by the lack of support he seemed to have.<p>

"There were many ways to go about this." Starfire said sadly, "And that was not the right one."

"Dude, what if she leaves the titans?" Beast Boy panicked.

"She won't." Cyborg said confidently. "That doesn't mean we'll see her for a while, but if she was going to leave, she probably would have throw her communicator at Robin's head."

"Can you not see the implications? For all we know the Hive now has details on all of us."

"Rae isn't stupid." Cyborg frowned at his leader. "Knowing her she's probably worked to keep the team separate from her social life. Like I said – she's still on the team. And you need to do some apologising when she gets back."

"_ME?_ Cyborg, we don't even know how far in the 'relationship' she is!"

Beast Boy coughed awkwardly. "Umm... actually... if it had just been Jinx's scent on her arm or something, the showers she's had since would have pretty much removed the scent... this was a little more... intimate."

"A little more?" Robin frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Okay, a lot more. Like... Urgh, work it out for yourself. I'm not going to impose on Rae's privacy." Beast Boy turned and left the room. "I'll be in my room if anyone wants me."

Cyborg read the look of shock on Robin's face, and replied with one of his own. "I thought you'd guessed, and that's why you were so mad."

"No." The disbelief was clear to hear in his voice. "I messed up, didn't I?"

"I'm not saying Rae's right with what she's doing but it _could _have been handled differently."

"I do not agree." Starfire shook her head. "Love is a glorious thing in all its forms. I do not believe Raven should be reprimanded for such a thing. She is not breaking the law while she is with the girl, therefore I do not see why there should be a problem."

"Star, Jinx is a criminal." Robin muttered.

The alien stayed unfazed. "And villains cannot love?"

* * *

><p>"Did you see their stinkin' faces?"<p>

"Yeah. They didn't know what hit them!" Mammoth grunted happily as he made his way to their sofa.

"Stupid snot muchers." Gizmo cackled. "Breakin' outa jail's just getting easier!"

Raven teleported into the room by the kitchen, so went unnoticed by the villains until she spoke. "Where's Jinx?"

"Argh!" Gizmo toppled off his stool by the computer and he tried to look round at the hero. "Crap! What- how did you get here?"

"I said, where's Jinx?"

Gizmo paled as Raven turned her glare on him, and Mammoth pointed at the corridor Raven knew led to the girl's room. "Down there."

Raven walked off without another glance at the villains, and Gizmo waited until she was out of sight before looking at Mammoth. "Does that mean she's on our side?"

The gigantic teen shrugged.

* * *

><p>Raven knocked lightly on the closed door. "Jinx?"<p>

"Raven!" The door swung open, revealing a smiling meta-human. She dragged Raven into the room by her arm. "The guys didn't give you any trouble did they? I'm kinda surprised to see you – but in a good way."

"Gizmo and Mammoth didn't give me any trouble." She muttered.

"So, why the visit? I'm getting Gizzi to install that security system. They know the deal with the whole killer dude and- Rae, are you okay?" Jinx paused as she got a good look at the empath's face.

"They found out."

"The titans? Oh my god, they didn't kick you out did they?"

"No." She shook her head, before laughing bitterly. "Not yet anyway. I just kinda left during an argument. Don't worry – I turned off anything they could use to track my position with."

"Don't worry about that." Jinx frowned. "Doubt they'd find the entrance to the place anyway." She pulled Raven into a hug, her frown deepening when the girl stiffened up. She pulled back, letting her arms drop to her sides. "So what? That's it then?"

"I told them I wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what?"

"Break up with you." Raven sighed heavily.

"But let me guess – you're having some big guilt trip." Jinx asked, starting to sound angry.

"I know – I knew something like this was going to happen but-"

"You're too worried about what your little goody two shoes friends are gonna think. So you keep playing these stupid little games in an attempt to sooth your ego."

"Jinx we're on opposite sides – we knew this was never going to work out."

"Bullshit. If this doesn't work out, it's going to be because of you." Jinx spat, before chewing on her bottom lip. "Raven, please."

"If we hadn't been out after that stupid creature today, none of this would have happened." Raven muttered, glaring holes into the floor.

"Oh no, you are not blaming this on some killer. Ya' know, I don't think he was doing this in order to throw our relationship out in the open."

_I go back to the tower, and I'm just waiting for Robin to come collect my communicator. I break up with Jinx and..._ Raven shook her head and pulled her hood up. "I'm ending this." She glanced up at the meta-human, "And don't bother trying to find me."

Once again she wrapped herself up in her energy before sinking down into the floor. Jinx watched the empty space a moment before Raven's words clicked in her head. "She hadn't broken up with me! She..." She suddenly started running towards the common room. "Gizmo!"

"What?" The small boy frowned, turning to face his leader as she ran into the room, her face a mask of panic.

"Find Raven's position-now! And call the titans. Tell them they need to find Raven."

"WHAT! Why?"

"Just do it!" She yelled, veering off towards the exit. "And that's an order!"

* * *

><p>Quick AN: when I described Rae's teleportation as 'jumping through the interdimensional lines of travel' it's pretty much how they described it on one of the original comics. (End of History lesson :P)

Hmm... Was this chapter too soon? Bit of a pain to write, but... Again, I guess a lot happens in this chapter. Not too much I hope. Comments would be nice :)

I'm aware I have a few loose ends I need to cover (Church of blood, what the dude is etc). But don't worry; next chapter will deal with answering all them. Maybe...


	30. Frail

**Between starting year 13 at college, to having to choose a topic for my extended project qualification, and designing my friend's tattoo, and re-reading Harry Potter (Order of the phoenix), I've been a little pressed for time. First day back after AS exams and I'm given homework! The outrage!**

**Oh, yeah. This is gonna be the first story I finish on here, so if I like, totally flop the ending... forgive me! (Not saying this is the last chapter, but it's getting close)**

* * *

><p><strong>Spikesagitta: <strong>Darn. Robin's a dick ain't he...and for a smart guy, he sure is slow to put the pieces together regarding Jinx and Raven level of relationship... XD Even Beast Boy got it :P

_Haha, he can be. As for Beast Boy... suppose he did have an advantage xD _

**Umbra8191: **great chapter i can't wait for the next update.

_Thanks ^_^_

**Edokage: **Raven's taking the offence, has somehow figured out how to confront the shadow killer or whoever is behind it and does so alone in a seemingly suicidal attempt to bring back some semblance of order into her life.  
>At least that is what it looks like to me.<br>About Robin: For such a smart guy (not even taking into consideration his detective training) he sure is portrayed as being more than ordinarily dense (having Beast Buy one step from telling him about the birds and the birds might be a bit too extreme). His reluctance to believe that a villain can be in love with a hero and vice versa especially seems strange; sure, he is paranoid and more than a bit of a grouch, but to believe it to be impossible when his mentor had more than one more or less serious relationship with less than law abiding women (Catwoman and Talia al Ghul) would be stretching credibility to its breaking point. Maybe you should let him 'see the light' concerning Raven and Jinx' relationship when he has calmed down. He doesn't  
>have to like it or approve of it in any way, just accept that that is how things are and that he can't do a thing about it.<p>

_Ahh, BB does have the advantage, having smelt Jinx's scent. Robin's just going by what BB's said. But I am being a little mean to him ^_^ _

**Darkshadow-lord: **Interesting Chapter! I look forward to reading the next! So Raven is going  
>after the shadow guy uh?<p>

_You'll have to read to find out! (Not that is isn't obvious or anything)_

**I'm a Lover not a Hater: **I totally love the relationship between Raven and Jinx. But it does have its complications as always. This story is truly one of my best favourites

_Heh, so do I. And why, thank you :)_

**Concolor44: **Wait ... what?  
>You think TOO MUCH happens in this chapter?<br>Art thou the nuts? ? ? I thought it was MUCH too short! And that's a hell of a cliffhanger you left us with there!  
>Robin reacted about the way I figured he would. Like a jerk. But it seems he's sort of realized that now. Not much of a detective where relationships are concerned, is he?<br>Jinx is pretty quick on the uptake there. She realized that Raven was going after the Shadowman. That's bad enough. But with her communicator turned off, and the Titans unable to find her ... hurmmmm. Could be dicey. I was a little surprised and a lot pleased that she instructed Gizmo to contact the Titans. She has a lot of strength of character. She just needs to work on her attention span, and the direction of her efforts.

_Haha good. I can take being crazy to ruining it. Hmm Rae's in it deep this time. And Jinx is good as a leader when she puts her mind to it, but your right, attention span=slightly longer than a goldfish._

* * *

><p>.<p>

* * *

><p>Raven glanced out over the buildings in front of her from her perch on the roof, before glancing down at her communicator, gripped in her hand, still turned off. It was about twelve, though heavy clouds blocked out the sun. She knew the killer had found her – she could feel someone watching her, the same as when she'd been in the alley when Beast Boy first caught his scent – the same as when she'd last been here with Jinx.<p>

She dropped the yellow device next to her and again took in all the buildings, her gaze finally resting on the most extravagant of the lot, its tall dome roof in serious need of repair, and she knew the brick structure of the walls itself were weak. It was an amazement it hadn't collapsed years ago. Though she recognised it had been build with withstand the test of time – or at least until she'd been old enough to fulfil the prophecy.

Glancing round to make sure no one had seen her, civilian or otherwise, she lowered herself to street level and began walking towards the building.

* * *

><p>"<em>Gizmo?<em> What the hell do you want?" Robin frowned as the boy's image filled the screen.

"Don't worry crud munchers. This isn't _my_ idea. Jinx told me – screamed at me – to call you guys. 'parently you gotta find your stupid goth."

"What?" Cyborg asked, moving up to the screen.

"I don't know! She just appears here, pisses off to Jinx's room, and then Jinx comes runnin' out here lookin' like the Justice League was on 'er ass. She just told me to call you guys. So I'm callin'."

"She's turned her communicator off – and anything else we could track her with." Robin shook his head.

"Not my problem." The boy shrugged, before signing off.

Robin and Cyborg glanced at each other. "You go in the T-Car, I'll get the others, then use the R-Cycle. Beast Boy and Starfire can do sweeps over the city."

"What do you think she's doing?"

"I don't know – but we're not going to waste any time trying to figure it out. Jinx obviously thinks it's something urgent."

Cyborg nodded, before running off in direction of the lift.

* * *

><p><em>Where the hell could she be?<em> Jinx was well aware she was getting a lot of negative attention as she ran through Jump City's streets, ignoring the stitch that had built up in her side. The only good thing was people were quick to move out her way.

Realising with frustration she wasn't moving quick enough, she dived into an alley and climbed up the building's fire escape onto the roof. She had enough skill at gymnastics and parkour to feel comfortable using the roof tops as a rout. It meant she could see a lot more around her too.

"Jinx!"

The pink haired girl looked up to find Starfire flying near her. "Thank god you guys... are out here too."

"What is wrong with friend Raven?" The alien asked as she flew alongside the girl.

"I'm not sure... and I hope I'm wrong." She panted, pausing as she jumped over the gap between two buildings, "I think she's... going after him."

Starfire gasped. "The shadow killer? This is most worrying! If Raven attacks him in her demon form-"

"She's gone. I know."

Starfire suddenly grabbed the girl's wrists, lifting her into the air. "It shall be faster if we fly."

"Ahhhg! Crap! Starfire!"

"Do not worry. We may not be friends, but I shall not drop you."

"You'd better not." She retorted, feeling terribly un-safe.

"Oh my god, I think I know where she's gone!" Jinx suddenly declared after a minute of flying.

Starfire squeaked. _How does Rae put up with this girl? I swear she don't use normal octaves._

"Where?"

"That old library everyone seems to think is real important. You know? The one where Raven went end-of-the-world on everyone's ass?"

"Why would she go there?" Starfire frowned. "Raven hates that place very much."

"Gut feeling." Jinx shrugged. "Just try it – you've got the rest of the titans looking elsewhere right? It's not gonna hurt."

"Agreed." Starfire set off at a faster pace and Jinx tightened her grip on the alien's wrists as she feared for her life.

* * *

><p>Walking through the dusty interior of the library, she made her way to the end of the building, not looking around even as the shadow creature began knocking things over, and throwing them around. Her birthmarks suddenly flared into life, and a section of the wall glowed with the mark of Scath before sinking into the floor with a loud grating sound. The killer stopped trying to grab Raven's attention and moved up to look over her shoulder.<p>

"How did you do that?"

Again, the empath continued to ignoring him, forcing herself to pass into the revealed chamber, and down the flight of stairs. Even if everything didn't go to plan, and he survived, he wouldn't be able to get back out of these chambers without her live body, or another with Trigon's 'blessing'. She reached the room with the ghoulish statues and stared at them for a moment – half expecting them to come to life and chant the prophecy that no longer existed – before turning to face the shadow, the only light in the room coming from her birthmarks and the symbols that flickered to life on the walls, casting everything in a red glow. It meant that the killer was almost invisible, but she knew that wouldn't be much of a problem in a minute or two.

She could feel his frown, and smiled slightly, taking pleasure in his discomfort. It wasn't something she'd felt coming from him before. "What do you want?"

"Why? You're going to be dead in a minute anyway."

She shrugged, before asking again. "What do you want?"

Some of the symbols flickered as the shadow started to move from statue to statue, studying each one even though they were identical. "I've wanted to get in here for a while now. I couldn't. Obviously. I _did_ want you to re-open the portal; or any portal, into the demonic universe. Of course, you are not so inclined. Before I knew you could attack me that was not much of an obstacle." Raven felt him return eyes to her, and fought to keep still as she became aware of his proximity. "Now, I'm going around it another way."

Raven waited a few seconds until it was clear he wasn't going to elaborate. "Which is?"

"Your death, of course. Did you know your father can possess your dead body for his own, as easily as can breathe?" He laughed quietly as he watched her eyes widen.

"You're lying."

"Believe what you wish, however a certain Priest seemed very interested in my proposition. Anything else? Or can we get this over with?" He sneered, hunching over.

"Hostages!" She snapped quickly, this time taking a step back. "Where are the hostages?"

"Why?"

"Peace of mind." She lied quickly.

"I found a lovely cave up in the mountain by that... what is it called...that giant telescope?"

"The observatory?"

"Yes. Didn't need them after your attack anyway, mind you." He continued, but Raven wasn't listening. She'd closed her eyes, and was focusing on the bond she had with Robin. He was a distance away, but down here, she was stronger. It's what the symbols were for. Without it, she'd never have been able to open the portal in the first place. That's why Slade had been ordered to bring her there. "-sacrifice was no longer needed so... what are you doing?"

Cutting off that link to her leader, she smiled as she dropped the barriers in her mind built from years of meditation. "Killing you." She opened her eyes to look at the creature, which now stood before her clear as day.

Seeing those four, blood red eyes, the killer's confidence ebbed slightly, and his own eyes narrowed in concentration.

* * *

><p>Robin stopped his R-Cycle, frowning slightly as he suddenly felt the compulsion to head east. He pulled out his communicator and called Cyborg.<p>

"You found anything?"

"No but...You know me and Raven have that bond?"

"You think you can find her through it?" Cyborg asked excitedly, his voice crackling slightly.

"Not sure – she has more control of it than I do, but something's telling me to go east. Where the Observatory is."

"Chang's old hide out?"

"Sort of. Drive towards my co-ordinates, We'll meet up there and check it out. We'll leave Beast Boy and Starfire flying-"

"And Jinx."

He hesitated, before nodding, "And Jinx to keep looking through the city. Signing out."

Pocketing his communicator, he put the bike in gear before speeding off again, glad being a titan meant no speed limits.

* * *

><p>The tendril of dark energy rapped itself around the creature's ankle, before he was flung the full length of the room, crashing into one of the statues and breaking it, sinking through the debris when the effects that Demonic Raven's energy had on his physical form wore off. Still partially in control, the 'human' side of Raven attacked the building's foundations with her magic, until the building started creaking above them, threatening to fall at any moment.<p>

She looked up, and saw the shadow was watching her, crouched, but not attacking yet. Interest was pouring off him, along with an extra dose of anger, possibly from his flight into the statue. He suddenly sprung at her, travelling so fast that to one of the others, apart from perhaps Kid Flash, he wouldn't have been seen moving.

Raven suddenly started screaming, confusing the Shadow, who pulled back. His eyes widened as he watched her hair grow and teeth define themselves until she had definite fangs. She seemed to grow taller, and he noticed absently her powers were lifting her, the wisps of darkness acting like a stage. That very human, very scared scream died into a bone vibrating growl, and the killer found himself backing up. He was starting to believe he'd underestimated her.

* * *

><p>"Down there!" Jinx shouted, trying her best to nod down at the roof currently below them. "There's something-argh!"<p>

Starfire gasped and dived towards the flat roof of the building as her eyes picked up something small and yellow. Gently dropping Jinx before landing herself, she looked down at the object in the meta-human's white hands. "But that is friend Raven's communicator! Why would she leave it here?"

"Maybe... she was hoping someone would find it. Just not this soon."

There was the sound of masonry falling, similar to a rock slide, and both girls whirled round to find one of the buildings raining dust and the occasional brick onto the streets below it. They watched with horror, waiting for the whole thing to collapse, only moving when it calmed down.

"Well, at least we know where she is." Jinx muttered, breathless as though she'd been running.

Starfire pulled out her communicator, keeping her green eyes fixed on the library as another shudder ran through its structure, walls erupting with more dust flurries, reflecting the light from the few working streetlamps like snow. "Starfire urgently calling anybody!"

The building shook again, this time half of the dome roof collapsing in, and Jinx shot off the roof, sliding down the railings of the fire escape. Starfire hurriedly flew after the girl while still waiting upon an answer from her team mates. She would not allow Jinx to enter the building in its current condition. The only ones tough enough to do so without ensuring their deaths was the alien herself, and Raven, and Raven was already inside. Of course, the risk of either of them dying if the building collapsed was still very high, and serious injury was a given.

"Yo dude, it's BB. You found her?" The changeling said, as someone finally replied to her

"I have. And the situation is most disastrous. You must all proceed to the old library immediately!"

"You got an answer from Robin or Cy?"

"I have not." She shook her head, swooping lower as Jinx ducked between two buildings.

"I'll get a hold of them – you get Raven."

"I fear it may be too late." She shook her head, but the changeling had already cut the connection. Instead she moved closer to the villain. "Jinx, you cannot enter that building!"

"The hell I can't!" She shouted back, momentarily reminding the alien of Raven's outburst back in the common room.

Starfire landed and grabbed the shoulders of the girl as she spilled out onto what had once been a main road leading past the front of the old building. "You are much too frail! You must do the waiting out here until the other titans arrive. I shall go inside and search for our friend."

* * *

><p>He tried to back up and slip through one of the walls as the demoness approached him, gliding through the air as gracefully as anything he had seen, a dark smile tilting the corners of her grey lips, promising him death. Realising he couldn't move through the stones of the walls, he anxiously dived to the side to avoid her, and found himself flying through the air once more. He connected with another statue, and knew that if he'd had a body in the true sense of the word, he'd have probably been bleeding, badly.<p>

Dust drifted down from the ceiling as the building above shook again from the force of the impact on the wall. He glanced up wearily. If Raven had a hold on him when it collapsed, he'd be destroyed. Glancing back at the girl who was slowly coming his way, he jumped back to his feet and ran at her, jumping over the tendrils of energy and planting a kick in her stomach.

She doubled over with a small _oof_, and the creature backed up a bit before hitting her with all his strength on the jaw. She flew back, almost of fast as he had, and solidly hit the wall, which crumbled underneath her to reveal another small room, this one not having any statues. Rushing forward while she was still on her back, he'd almost reached Raven when she grabbed him again with her energy, and slammed him into the roof above them. Part of the ceiling in the other room collapsed, and she pulled him down a bit before shoving back against the rock with all her strength. Fighting to remain conscious, he was suddenly more worried about what was happening to the structure of the building than what the demoness was going to do.

Raven wasn't even aware of the condition of the location, too absorbed in getting as much pain and fear out of the creature as she could before she finally ripped his unformed head from his shadowy shoulders. Letting his drop to the floor, she levitated over to him, feet only inches from the floor, the kick coming as a total surprise. The shadow had used the floor to brace him, angling his leg so she was forced backwards, hitting a wall that was closer than the previous wall she'd fallen through had been. As before, the wall decayed and crumbled under the touch of her body, but this time the demoness wasn't floored, and gained her balance, rising into the air.

"Insignificant filth." She hissed at him, snaking a tendril round the creature's torso, raising him into the air, keeping out of his reach. "Enough of this." Another wisp tightened itself around his head, and under his chin, and smile on her face spreading as the shadow struggled to get free from her grip. Unbeknown to Raven, however, he wasn't worrying about having his head torn off. He'd seen the ceiling sag when he'd put the girl through that second wall.

The building groaned in protest around them, and the ceiling seemed to drop slightly, dropping a sheet of dirt and dust on them. The demoness glanced up, still holding her victim in a death grip, eyes widening in surprised and fear as the building loudly protested once more before collapsing faster that the shadow had been moving.

* * *

><p>"RAVEN!"<p>

The shout ripped itself out of the girl's throat, a painful sound, and the meta-human started to run forward before the clouds of dust and debris forced her backwards to where Star was standing, eyes wide with horror and shock.

"RAVEN!"

Starfire pulled her communicator out with shaking hands. "Starfire calling everyone. Please you must... Raven has been buried under a building." The alien forced out.

This time Robin was the first to answer, and she didn't understand why he was stood in a cave. "Damn! We'll be straight there. Beast Boy should already be on his way. Try seeing if you can dig her out."

Starfire nodded before cutting the connection and glancing up. Jinx was already climbing over the rubble, picking up roof tiles, sections of mason were the mortar had stuck, and was flinging them carelessly over her shoulder, throwing the odd burst of hex energy at the debris to clear it faster.

She moved over to the other side of the building and began her own searching, the travelling sounds of the villains sobs and calls for the demoness making her feel worse every second. She jumped when Beast Boy landed beside them, morphing out of his falcon form, and quickly glancing around with wide eyes, coming to rest on Jinx over the other side of the building.

"I'm gonna shift into something small and see if I can work my way down and find her. You sure she was here?"

Starfire sniffed, lifting a section of roof twice her height, and wider than the t-car. "Most certain."

"We... we'll find her." He glanced back at the alien and forced a smile before morphing into a small green spider and disappearing.

Starfire waited a few seconds before she continued with the dig, to decrease her chances of hurting the changeling.

* * *

><p>Man was it horrible to write -_- You know when you have this amazing picture in your head, but you can't get it down into words right?<p>

Stupid building! I hate you!

Anyway... umm, was it atmospheric? Did I get it right? Or did I totally just ruin the climax?


	31. Change of Mind

**Spikesagitta: **..OMG yeah that was...not bad ;) Not epic (not yet anyway!), but still awesome...still that shadow bastard is shrew...he might not be hurt...but Raven is still mortal...sort of.  
>..don't tell me Trigon will appear?<p>

_Ahh, remember Rae still had a hold on him when the building collapsed, meaning that he will be able to take damage. As for Trigon... like I'm gonna give the plot away in the reviews! ^_^_

**Umbra8191: **great chapter i can't wait for the next update.

_Thanks, but um, not to be rude... but you need to find a new sentence for reviewing xD_

**Eagle wolf05: **It was good not the way I thought it was going to go down but it was good

_Heh 'not the way you expected'? Not in a bad way I hope!_

**Concolor44: **Bless you, my child! You taught me a new word today: parkour. I was familiar  
>with the concept, but not the word for it. Thanks!<br>Whoa. Stop. Breathe. Breathe some more.  
>So, okay. Let's take it a piece at a time. Raven's demonic side is pretty close to full swing ("Insignificant filth!") which makes her REALLY TOUGH. She had the Shadowman in her grip, which means that he was solid enough to take damage. Then the building fell on them. Raven may have been able to erect a soul-self shield before getting squished, but the Shadowman, not so much. He was fearing for his own existence, such as it is. If she survives the initial impact, she can teleport out. That's what I'm hoping. Because if the rubble raining down knocks her out then either she'll revert to human and suffocate, or the demon will take over fully and 'Raven' will be gone. Then the Titans will have to fight the demon, and that will NOT go well.<br>Man, am I ever glad you update quickly! If I knew you weren't going to update for a month? Just shoot me.

_Haha you're welcome! Nice, looking at what could happen next from all angles. Glad you got the gist right too – worried I'd written it in a way for misunderstanding! Raven is in a bit of a pickle isn't she? As for the updates, if I had to wait a month before I finished the next chapter I might have to do away with myself to!_

**I'm a Lover not a Hater: **Great chapter and personal opinion, Raven can't die that easily. Can't wait for next

_Personal opinion... no, she can't xD However, remember how big the building was in the animation? And she was in the 'basement'. Tha's' a hell of a lot of masonry._

**Darkshadow-lord: **Oh No! RAVEN! I hope she's alright! I can't wait to see what happens next!  
>So you're in college? What are you studying?<p>

_Currently studying art, biology, history and psychology. Year 13 I'm dropping Biology however and picking up the Extended Project (Write 10,000 word report on any topic of your choice). I'm also part of a creative writing group :)_

* * *

><p><em>.<em>

* * *

><p>Robin arrived loudly on his motorbike, shortly followed by Cyborg as he moved about clearing the rubble of teenagers. "If y'all move, I can find an' pinpoint Rae's heartbeat."<p>

Starfire had to pull Jinx away, while the meta-human threw a string of curses and swear words at the alien. Beast Boy popped up from a pile slightly left from where he'd started and morphed into his normal form, waving his arms about madly. "Found her! I found her!"

"Beast Boy, go back down and shift into something big to move the debris over her – everyone else, get ready to grab and hold that larger pieces – the last thing we want is for it to fall back on her." Robin jumped into motion as everyone ran over to the changeling, who disappeared again.

The rubble starting shaking slightly and green started showing through the gaps. Cyborg and Starfire, the stronger of the titans, started moving the larger pieces of masonry and support beams aside to help Beast Boy. He was known for automatically turning back into his human form if there wasn't enough space for his morph. The changeling had morphed into some form of low, wide dinosaur most of the team were unfamiliar with, catching almost all of the debris and revealing a very still and bloody Demon Halfling. Jinx was shocked into place, and Cyborg moved under his best friend to carefully pick the girl up and move her over to the road.

"Call a paramedic." He urged Robin, taking in a quick account of her injures as he carried her.

"They won't sign her in to the hospital – you know that Cy." Robin replied quickly.

"I know. But she's going to need quick stitches and bandaging up if we want to keep her alive."

Beast Boy, having shifted back, ran up to them before becoming extremely alarmed, eyes almost popping out. "Cy! I can't hear her breathing!"

"_Shit_!" Cyborg quickly placed her on the ground and checking her pulse, before messing with something on his arm, "We're not going to bother with mouth to mouth." He told them, still working with something on his arm. "Rae _doesn't_ just stop breathing. She told me she doesn't."

"Huh?" Beast Boy asked, surprised he'd comprehended what his friend had said.

"Somethin' to do with survival instinct an' her demon."

Jinx wandered over slowly, tripping a few times and falling to her knees once as she moved to stand next to Starfire, feeling hazy.

"Was hopin' I wouldn't have to use this." Cyborg muttered, before something on him bleeped. "Clear!"

Beast Boy and Robin jumped back, and Cyborg pressed his hands flat on Raven's chest, lower on the left side, and almost touching Raven's collar bone on the right side

. _It's like one o' them... whatcha' ma call it.. difib.. defibrillator. Who'da guessed he was cartin' one of them round... _A single sob escaped her, almost like a hic-up, and she put her hand over her mouth, as though she wondered what had caused it.

"Clear!" Cyborg yelled again.

The meta human chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes stinging. She shouldn't believe this was happening. This was _Raven_; the demonic demigod. What was a stupid building to her?

"Cy, I think she's breathing." Beast Boy gasped, before leaning forward, his head tilted so one pointed green ear was facing the girl. He sighed, a small smile lighting up his face, and everyone starting breathing a little easier.

Jinx still didn't understand what was going on.

Sirens grew in the background, and Robin looked round at Starfire and Beast Boy. "Go back to the tower and start to set up the infirmary for her. Take Jinx with you."

"No." She muttered without taking her eyes of the demoness. "I'm staying with Rae."

"We... can't guarantee the authorities won't insist for your arrest when they get here." Robin said, feeling like he'd swallowed a load of stones. Very jagged stones.

She looked up then, her already wide eyes stretching that bit further. "What?"

"You want to be there when she wakes up don't you?" Robin asked, and the girl nodded quickly, looking back at her lover. "You can't do that if you're in jail."

"But... okay." Jinx nodded, she started to turn towards Starfire, before pausing and looking back, pointing a white finger at Robin. "But if anything happens to her-"

"She'll be fine." Cyborg smiled. "Go on. We won't be more that fifteen minutes behind you."

He watched Starfire grab the girl's wrists before taking off, Beast Boy close behind, morphed into a falcon. The robotic teen glanced at his leader, a small smile fixed on his face. "What changed your mind?"

Robin muttered something unintelligible under his breath, otherwise pretending he hadn't heard. "What do you think happened to our killer?"

"Hopefully Rae can tell us when she wakes up." Cyborg shrugged. "But he can stay buried under there for all I care." He shook his head, before scowling at the injured and unconscious girl. "You're damn lucky you're the daughter of Trigon."

* * *

><p>"Please, why is she not healing herself?" Starfire asked quietly, trying not to disturb Jinx who had fallen asleep in the chair beside the bed. "It has been two days now."<p>

"She's gonna be beat, Star. She _was_ fighting that creature, and I'll be you anythin' it was her that pulled down the building." Cyborg shook his head as he checked the girl's bandages. "Good news is she's stable."

"But if she does not go into the trance of healing-"

"We'll just have to keep treating her like she was one of us. We're lucky I get you all to give blood regularly." He glanced at the bag hooked up to Raven. "Imagine trying to find this in a hospital's blood bank!"

"She will be the O K?" Starfire frowned slightly, looking back at her friend.

Cyborg walked back round the bed and put his hand on the alien's shoulder. "I don't see any reason why her condition should get worse. I'm gonna make dinner, an' see if I can get Jinx to eat anythin'. Mind sittin' with her in case she wakes up?"

"I do not mind." She shook her head, walking over to one of the other chairs.

* * *

><p>"Dudes!" Beast Boy yelled, running out of the infirmary, having no problem leaving Jinx alone.<p>

After bringing her here, Robin had insisted she be under constant watch, but apart from toilet breaks, it became clear pretty fast Jinx wasn't moving anywhere until Raven woke up, and even Robin had started leaving for minutes at a time during his watch.

"Dudes! Guys!Where are you?"

Cyborg and Robin came running down the corridor, faces a mask of panic. "What? Has her condition deteriorated?"

"If you call going into a trance thingy deterioration." He beamed. "She's gonna be okay!"

Robin let out a large breath, almost sinking to the floor in relief. Cyborg's smile matched the changeling's, and he let out a small laugh. "'Bout time!"

"I'll go tell Star." Robin shook his head, before jogging back up the corridor.

The pair started walking back down the corridor. "I'm not expecting her to wake for a few days. She's got a lot of damage to heal. But I can remove the drip and a lot of the monitors. I'm gonna keep her hooked up to the heart monitor just in case mind you."

"Cy, she's _always_ okay once she starts floating and stuff."

"She's got a lot of damage. I ain't said it in front of Jinx, so you might not have caught it, but most of her ribs were crushed an' I think her spine was damaged. That's not even looking at the damage her left hand took, and her leg looked pretty bad. She's gonna scar up nasty too." Some of the joy from moments ago was starting to leak out of his tone. "I fixed her up best I could, but I was hopin' she woulda started the healin' trance a week ago."

"Better late than never though." Beast Boy shrugged. "Come on, this is Rae we're talking about. She always pulls through stuff."

"You're right." Cyborg smiled, but he didn't sound convinced.

They walked into the infirmary. Jinx was leaning forward in her chair, eyes blurry from lack of sleep and tears, her hand gripping the empath's tightly. She looked up as Cyborg began removing some of the various wires attached to her.

"She's gonna be okay?" The meta-human asked hopefully.

"She's entered a healing trance. She should start to wake up in a few days." Cyborg nodded, pulling the drip out of Raven's arm.

Jinx smiled at them, before her eyes starting stinging. She broke down crying almost as quickly, and both the boys glanced at each other, uncertain. She'd been doing quite a bit of crying, and before Starfire had always been at hand to sit with the meta-human. They didn't want to leave her, but they didn't exactly know how to consol her either.

"Think... I'm gonna get some sleep." Jinx muttered in between her quiet sobs, leaning further forward to kiss Raven's cheek before she got up and moved unsteadily to the other cot behind her Cyborg had already given her permission to use, but she was yet to even touch.

Saved, both boys let out a quite sigh of relief, and Cyborg ushered the smaller boy out the room after checking over Raven once more, leaving her hooked up to everything but the heart monitor.

"That's almost a fortnight she's been sleepin' on that chair." Cyborg muttered. "Maybe she'll actually eat a full meal today as well. That's girl's wastin' away to nothing."

"I knew Rae liked Jinx but I didn't exactly expect the same in reverse." Beast Boy voiced as he followed Cyborg into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of soya milk. "I'm glad Star was right."

"Like I told Robin. Jinx aint a bad girl, not really. But fourteen nights and probably only a few hours of sleep... I'm surprised she hasn't collapsed on us."

* * *

><p>Raven groaned as she opened her eyes, unprepared for the blaring light that hit them, letting her see nothing but white. She heard someone move suddenly to the side of her, and tried to shake of the effects of healing, having the awful feeling that it was the Shadow. Raven gasped as someone threw them self at her, almost crushing her with their weight.<p>

"Oh my god! You're okay!"

"Jinx?" Raven muttered, her throat feeling awfully dry. She started coughing and the weight vanished as her vision slowly started re-appearing, though all she could see now was pink. "Where am I?"

"Titans Tower."

Raven struggled to sit up, trying not to wince as something pulled tight in her back and one of her ribs protested, blinking as though it would help her eyes adjust quicker. "You're in titans tower? Wait, why am _I _in titans tower? Jinx, what the hell is going on?"

"Why don't you tell me?" She replied, the relief being replaced with anger. "What the hell were _you_ thinking?" When Raven didn't answer she shook her head and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "We didn't find that shadow thingy."

"You wouldn't. If that didn't kill him, I don't know what would. To be honest I'm surprised I survived."

Jinx slapped her, hard. "You _idiot!_ You fucking..." She stopping, too angry for words. "Cyborg had to revive you!"

"I was wondering why my mental defences were back in place." She muttered, more to herself, holding a hand to her cheek. She turned to look at Jinx as her vision finally returned to its normal state, and didn't know what to say.

Silence filled the room, only interrupted by the regular beeping of the heart monitor still attached to Raven. Slowly, as though waiting for Raven to move out the way, Jinx grabbed the hand the empath still had pressed to her cheek, and pulled it away towards her, holding it up to her own cheek. She closed her eyes as Raven cupped the side of the girl's face, her breath hitching as her eyes stung. She'd cried too much recently. It was bad enough she'd let the other titans see how weak she was – she didn't need Raven to as well. The meta-human nuzzled against Raven's hand before moving forward and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Don't _ever_ do anything like that again."

"Jinx-"

"I don't want to hear it. There is no excuse. None."

"But-"

"Save it for your friends." She cut Raven short, pulling back slightly, before pressing her lips against Raven's, turning so she was kneeling on the bed.

The demoness welcomed her, and Jinx smirked as the heart monitor picked up the sudden increase in her heart-rate. They pulled apart as they heard the doors open, Jinx looking round while a small blush spread across Raven's cheeks.

"The heart monitor, is Rae-" Cyborg's frantic voice was cut short by Starfire.

"_Eeep!_ Friend Raven you are well!" She rushed forward, a blur of orange, to pull the girl in question into a hug.

The empath gasped as Starfire's super strength did nothing for her. "Star... injuries..."

The alien jumped back as though Raven were on fire. "I am most sorry!"

Jinx smiled slightly, slipping off the bed. "I'll go make you a drink." She walked towards the doors, where Cyborg pulled her aside before whispering,

"You're going to get some decent sleep. Now."

"Who are you? My mother?" She frowned, though that small smile still tugged at her lips, before she left the titans in the room.

"Right then." Cyborg stepped forward, going back into doctor mode. "I heard you say injuries. Your healing trance didn't get everything?"

"Apparently I should have died." She replied dryly. "Of course I'm going to have remaining injuries. My powers have drained themselves again from the feel of it. How many did I have?"

"A few crushed ribs, spinal damage, and a crushed hand-" They watched Raven glance down at her hands, a soft look of amazement on her face- "A bad torso wound, broken leg, broken wrist and multiple lacerations. What still hurts?"

"Ribs, and my back." She murmured. "I didn't realise I could take so much damage..." She looked up to find them all watching her with a dark expression. "Lecture me all you want, but I killed it. Did you find the hostages Robin?"

Her leader's frown deepened. "Yes, I did. They're in hospital recovering. Raven what you did was stupid and reckless. You-"

"I know." She cut him short.

"Then _why_?"

The answer to that question was a little too personal than she was comfortable with, and would bring up the issue that had driven her over the edge in the first place, but she at least owed them an answer. "I was... confused with everything and fighting him was... it was the only thing that made sense. It was the only thing that wouldn't turn round and... I was either going to win or lose; I knew the possible outcomes and I-"

"Dude, you knew it was _loose-loose_." Beast Boy interrupted her. "You had _planned_ not to survive either way."

"But my demon... I gave her full control. I, this, shouldn't be. My mental walls were destroyed. It's a miracle the monks raised me to treat it like breathing and that my body was unconscious long enough for it to move into place. I didn't know this would happen."

"That just means you shouldn't have gone after him in the first place." Robin shook his head. "We work as a team Raven, and we would have come up with something."

"Would we? I distinctively remember having an argument. And why is Jinx here?"

"She was the one who told us all we needed to find you." Robin answered, before grimacing. "And she's been at the tower for two weeks."

"I've been out for two weeks?" Raven gasped.

"Didn't help that for a week of that I was havin' to treat you like a normal human." Cyborg nodded. "You had us real worried."

"That doesn't explain why she's here."

"It was she who guessed that you had gone to the library." Starfire said softly. "We were the first on the scene, and she would not leave."

"Of course Robin here offered that she came to the tower with us." Cyborg smiled, nudging his leader, and Raven turned to give him wide eyes.

He coughed, obviously feeling uncomfortable. "I still don't approve but..." He sighed. "As long as you're doing nothing criminal together, I can't really stop you from seeing her."

"Cyborg, did you check me for concussion? I think I'm hallucinating."

The robotic teen snorted. "You're not hallucinating. Now, I can't do much about your ribs and spine but give you pain killers. And if they haven't healed properly, you might find your leg is still tender. Needless to say, the resident doctor thinks you're unfit for crime fighting."

"I gathered that myself, thank you."

"Raven... did you find out what he wanted? Or what he was?" Robin asked, comfortable now he was back on familiar ground.

She frowned. "I still don't know exactly what he was. Though I'm thinking he _was_ a shadow man. Just a magically enhanced shadow man. After all, what am I doing when I use my powers but manipulating shadow and dark energy? It would make sense as to why I could solidify him. But I'm not sure. As for what he wanted... he said he'd wanted a portal open to the demon world. Azar knows why. But when he found I could touch him, he wanted me dead. For some reason he had the conception that Trigon would be able to possess by shell. And... I don't know if he was lying or not. Also... I think he had roots to the Church of Blood. He mentioned a priest."

"But he's dead?"

"I had a hold of him when we were buried. There wouldn't be a body – the energy would just dissipate."

"I don't like the idea of there being no proof but... we haven't heard anything about it for these three weeks. Here's hoping he's dead." Robin nodded, before glancing sternly at her. "And you can tell Jinx not to get too comfortable here."

The door opened, and the girl in question walked inside holding two mugs, one of which she passed to Raven before sitting on the edge of the bed and taking a sip of her own. "Too bad bird boy. Cause I'm not leavin' until she's back to full health."

"But the Hive Five-" Raven frowned.

"Can deal with it."

"I got not complaint." Beast Boy smiled. "That's one less villain we have to worry about for a while."

"Even so much as a fork goes missing..." Robin muttered threateningly before walking out the door.

Jinx's face scrunched up as she frowned. "Why the hell would I want your fork?"

* * *

><p>.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>That awkward moment when mum tells you to 'stop talking about such stupid things and act like a normal family', when your younger sister points out that Ross's lesbian ex-wife is on TV during a Friends episode and dad turns to point at me. -_-' If only she knew what I've been writing!<strong>

**Anyways, hope I didn't totally ruin this with the last chapter :/**

**Thanks for all those who have been following this story, and for all you reviewers! I've noticed my writing has improved, and I couldn't have done it without y'all! **

**I'm thinking about writing a sequel (Vote yes if you want one via the review!) though it might not happen for a while. I've got a lot of stories on the go, and I think my next main focus is going to be 'Nightmare'. **

**Again, thank you for reading, favouriting and reviewing! Got a lot more response that I expected from this!**

**xXBlackRavenXx**


End file.
